


It's a Kid's World - Season One

by TalesofInterest



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Apocalypse, Coming of Age, Dystopia, Fanfiction, Gen, Multiple Perspectives, Multiple narratives, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Power Dynamics, Power Play, Power Struggle, Zombie Apocalypse, influence, the big vanish, the human harvest, world without adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 45,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27918517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesofInterest/pseuds/TalesofInterest
Summary: During a seemingly normal day for the Loud family, their lives are changed forever when Rita, Lynn Sr, Lori and Leni all instantly disappear without a trace. In a world where everyone over the age of 15 has vanished, how will the remaining Loud siblings and other kids perform in the fight for survival, resources and power in the hostile domain all the adults left behind?
Kudos: 4





	1. The Big Vanish

A young boy was running as fast as his little legs could take him, terrified for his life. It was night, it was dark, and it was dangerous.

Seemingly abandoned by the likes of his parents in the middle of a family trip into the woods, the poor child could only flee from any signs of danger that he could sense.

All alone, his survival instincts were put to the test as he was faced with the task of avoiding all kinds of foul beasts and deadly hazards that the forest had to offer.

But while he ran and hid, and cowered away, the boy had to ask himself "where did mom and dad go? Why have they left me out here all alone?"

Just as it seemed like things couldn't possibly get any worse, the boy suddenly thought he could see something, in the corner of his eye. Something rather gruesome…

* * *

_Earlier that day…_

It was Saturday morning, the Loud family got up early for a planned family day out. As usual, getting everyone ready in time was easier said than done…

"Alright, kids! We're leaving in 15 minutes! Everybody be ready and waiting in the car by then!" Lynn Sr instructed.

Of course, the Loud siblings were rushing around manically as they struggled to meet the demand made by their father. Lola was taking far too long applying her make-up, Leni was finding it difficult what outfit to wear. And so on.

Lincoln and Lori walked into the hallway upstairs, where it was clear each room surrounding them was full of utter chaos.

"Oh, boy. It's going to be one of those again." Lincoln remarked.

"Yep." Lori replied casually, before turning to the room on her left.

She walked into Luna and Luan's room, where the young comedian was busy procrastinating.

"Dude, get dressed and get in the car before dad cancels our trip to Dairyland! Hurry up!" Luna told her roommate.

"Don't Hurry About Me. Ha ha ha ha. Get it?" Luan Joked.

"Ugh!" Luna responded.

"Luan, you've literally got a good two hours to tell your jokes in the van. But you haven't got long to get dressed and get downstairs, so please just listen to Luna." Lori reasoned.

"Ah, anything for you, tuts." Luan said while holding up Mr Coconuts and speaking with 'his' deeper, gruff voice.

Meanwhile, Lincoln was trying to persuade Leni to quickly resolve her personal matter of choosing the right clothing to wear for the trip.

"Hey, Lincky. Tell me, which of these do you think is better?" Leni asked.

She was holding two fancy looking dresses, one in each hand. One was a dress that was mostly sky blue but with white at the bottom and where the cuffs were. The other one was a green and yellow polka dot dress.

"Erm, probably the blue one." Lincoln said, trying to use what he picked up through Leni and his other sisters over the years to make an informed fashion decision.

"Eh, you're right. Polka dots are so last season." Leni concluded as she threw the bad dress to the side.

"Good. Now that that's solved, Lori and I need your help. We need you to get into the other rooms and tell our sisters to move their butts!" Lincoln told her.

"Oh, but I'm more of a 'funager' than a ruthless ruler. I like to think that being nice, friendly and fun gets people to do what they need to." Leni replied.

"Well, maybe that works at Reningers, but that approach won't hold weight in this house. Besides, if you don't get them to step up and get ready in time, they'll all turn up to Dairyland, a public area, looking all tardy and rough. We can't have that, can we?" Lincoln asked, playing to her impulses.

"*gasp* You're right! I need to help them!" Leni said determined as she rushed out of the room.

"I knew that would work." Lincoln proudly said to himself as he smiled.

Leni then marched over to Lucy and Lynn's room, where Lynn was goofing off playing with her basketball, just throwing it into the net by herself, while Lucy was lying inside her coffin.

"You guys, we need to get ready or else you're going to go to a big place and look really horrible in front of lots of people!" Leni pleaded to her sisters.

"Pfft. I'll be fine. You might want to go out dressed like a blue barbie doll, but Lynn Loud doesn't change who she is for the world. She does things in her style. Besides, I'm already done. I don't need to dress up all fancy." Lynn argued back.

"What about you, Lucy?" Leni asked.

"I agree with Lynn… for once. I'm already finished. I will leave in a moment when I am done in my coffin." Lucy responded.

"Don't worry, sis. We can get downstairs and in the van, ready to juice out of here in 10 seconds flat." Lynn boasted as she clicked her fingers.

Lori, meanwhile, was trying to control the unpredictable twin duo…

"Lola, come on! You need to wrap this up!" Lori demanded.

"One more minute! It's important for a princess to look her best." Lola told her older sister as she finished carefully applying her make-up and polish.

"Where is Lana?" Lori asked as she looked around the room.

"Probably already outside." Lola replied.

Lori then walked over to the window and checked out the front yard. Sure enough, there Lana was, playing frisbee with Charles. Naturally, she was dirty, but then again, that wasn't going to change.

"At least she's already outside." Lori remarked.

Finally, Lincoln checked up on Lisa, who was typically working on one of her experiments.

"Lisa, let's go! I don't want to miss out on a fun trip to Dairyland. You can finish off whatever it is you're doing later!" Lincoln said.

"Just five more minutes. I am this close to perfecting a device that will instantaneously grow crops and food substances out of small chunks of dirt." Lisa explained.

"Well, that sounds really cool, but I think it can wait another day." Lincoln responded.

"Ugh, very well. I'll be ready and waiting by our designated transport vehicle in approximately two minutes." Lisa said.

Lincoln walked out the room, before finally saying to himself, and the fourth wall…

"Finally, I think we're going to make it. Let's just hope mom and dad take longer changing the baby than my sisters take getting their butts downstairs."

Lincoln then met up with Lori and Leni again at the top of the stairs as the three had finally managed to convince the other sisters to get a move on.

"It's done." Lori reassuringly told Lincoln.

"Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you, Lori. You too, Leni." Lincoln said.

* * *

But for all the chaos and madness that had just transpired, the truth was that was just an ordinary day. Little children worrying about tiny, trivial matters. The parents and eldest siblings were around to maintain control and order in the house, so the younger siblings could just do what they're meant to do. Be kids. They had the luxury to be able to concern themselves with their interests, hobbies and nuances, like choosing what to wear, telling jokes, playing recreational sports, and otherwise.

Little did they know, that morning as they entered the van, they wouldn't be going to Dairyland. Things were about to change forever…

Lynn Loud Senior and Rita emerged from the house, with Lily in the latter's arms and the house keys in the possession of the former. Lynn Sr locked the door before turning around to see the van.

To the surprise of both parents, all the kids were waiting in the van, ready to go.

"Okay, kids. You had me worried there, but you always seem to pull through and get ready at the last second." Lynn Sr said, relieved as he and Rita walked out of the house.

"Good job, everyone. It looks like we're in for a day of fun at Dairyland!" Rita enthusiastically chanted.

All 11 siblings then embraced their child-like nature as they raised their hands in the air and collectively yelled "Woo-hoo!" as they prepared themselves for a fun day out. They closed their eyes and looked into the sky for a split second as they did so.

Then the kids opened their eyes…

Lynn Sr and Rita were gone. Just like that. The two Loud parents… vanished without a trace. All that remained was Lily, suddenly crying as she fell on the ground.

"AAAGGHHH!" the siblings screamed in unison, completely startled and taken aback by the sudden disappearance of their parents.

"Woah Dudes! What the heck?!" Luna asked in shock.

"Mom? Dad? Where are you?!" Lincoln questioned as he entered a state of immediate panic.

"Lori, where do you think they…" Lola began to speak, but then as she turned around, it got worse.

"Lori's gone too!" Lana cried.

The remaining siblings then looked around for a quick check for who was actually still present.

"And Leni!" Lynn observantly added.

"What the heck?! What's going on here?!" Luna asked in confusion.

"It appears our parents and eldest siblings have… been erased from existence." Lisa speculated as she emotionally struggled to finish the sentence, failing to suppress her emotions at such a critical moment.

"But how? They can't just vanish like that!" Lincoln said.

"I don't know! This defies all science and logic!" Lisa insisted.

"But it happened!" Lola yelled in defiance of her sister's argument as the situation continued to become more stressful.

"Surely they can't just be gone for good!" Luan said.

But the more they talked, the more dire the situation seemed. Without any explanation, the four oldest family members were gone, without any remains. It made no sense, and it left the remaining children vulnerable and uncertain.

Unsure of what to do, the remaining Loud siblings got out of Vanzilla and walked around, looking for any signs of reassurance they could find.

"MOM! DAD! Are you there?!" Lincoln desperately called out, but to no reply.

"Lori? Leni? If this is some game, it's NOT funny!" Luna shouted, but still with no answer.

The Louds looked around for a moment until the quiet one pointed out an observation…

"Um, guys. I think you should look around the street." Lucy said.

She pointed over to a house from further down the road, where two kids were doing the same thing as them.

"Mom? We're scared. Where are you?" one four year old boy cried out as he wrapped his arms around his slightly older brother, who was doing the same.

Likewise, they were having no luck in receiving an answer for their calls and pleas.

Neither was a baby in its push chair, which was just staying put without anyone to push it anymore. It only continued to cry, waiting for a mother who would never come.

Similarly, looking further down the road, the siblings noticed some cars which had just crashed into nearby street-lights or houses. But there were no adults in the cars nor outside of them inspecting the damage. Just abandoned vehicles that were left behind, having been abandoned in the middle of use, resulting in some carnage.

"It's everyone! Every single grown up in the street!" Lincoln blurted out in terror.

"Most likely, it's every adult in the world." Lisa corrected.

"But how? And WHY?!" Lynn asked.

"I… don't know." Lisa admitted in defeat, her scientific knowledge proving useless in such a sudden and random turn of events.

"Well, what the heck are we supposed to do NOW?!" Lola demanded to know with a mix of anger and crippling uncertainty.

The Louds were faced with the biggest catastrophe of their lives. They had just lost four family members who they loved and cherished. Moreover, they had lost all the authority figures who kept order and stability in their lives.

Lincoln had a thought at that moment. If this was really as wide scale a problem as his brainy sister was inferring, it would be worth checking as much. He rushed back inside the house and upstairs as he had something he felt he needed to take care of.

* * *

But the Louds weren't the only ones affected by this drastic and sudden turn of events. Also in Royal Woods, Clyde's needs were being taken care of by his loving and nurturing parents, Harold and Howard McBride. But as they sat down for breakfast, moments before the adults all vanished, the two fathers unknowingly weren't going to be able to finish the meal they had just prepared.

"Okay, son. We made you a full breakfast with the toast chopped up into little squares and the eggs scrambled. Just as you like it." Howard said as he passed his son his intended first meal of the day.

"Thanks, dad." Clyde said in gratitude.

"I heard your friend Lincoln was taking a trip to Dairyland today with his family?" Howard asked.

"Yeah, they've been looking forward to this day for a while." Clyde stated.

"Well, how about we go on a little adventure of our own today? I was thinking about going on a picnic later." Harold suggested.

"Oooh. I love picnics! I'll get the basket ready." Howard enthusiastically responded as he rushed off to get prepared.

"That would be really cool. You're the best dads I could hope for!" Clyde said in appreciation and joy.

Clyde then took the first bite out of his breakfast. He blinked for a split second as he did so…

Suddenly, there was utter silence. Clyde stopped eating as he sensed a loss of sorts in the room. A lack of a presence…

"Um, dads? Where'd you go?" he asked, unaware of what had just happened.

Clyde then got out of his chair and walked around. He wandered the house to see if he could find his parents.

"Dads? You're starting to scare me now. Just say you're okay!" Clyde pleaded nervously; little did he know he was talking to the thin air.

* * *

Lisa's earlier correction was all too valid, as it wasn't only Royal Woods that had to deal with the loss of adults. The scope of the disaster was far greater. Cities and rural areas alike had to deal with the aftermath, including the Casagrandes.

The cities and more population-dense areas had it far worse. Thousands of cars had crashed and blocked the roadways all over the place. Many civilians were badly wounded, or worse. The Casagrande family themselves, all together in their apartment on that fateful day, were hit as hard as any other family.

At the moment of the catastrophe, the whole family was gathered in one room, watching the television. When the adults all vanished, the reaction was immediate.

"Mom?! Dad!? Grandma Rosa!?" Carl, the wannabe macho casanova shouted aloud, as the stress of the situation let his façade slip.

"What just happened?! Even Bobby and Carlota are gone!" Ronnie Anne blurted out.

"They just vanished!" CJ followed.

"But how?!" Carl questioned as he began to panic.

"Carl, Calm down! Panicking isn't going to get us anywhere!" Ronnie Anne said as she put her hands on his shoulders to try and comfort him.

"I want my mommy." Carl admitted, having let his true 6-year-old self come out in spades.

"I do, too. But right now, if we're going to fix all of this, we have to be strong and stay calm!" She instructed him.

"Okay." He agreed uneasily.

Ronnie Anne, CJ, Carl and little Carlito were the only family members not to have disappeared all of a sudden. They couldn't make out what had happened right away, and neither could the resident pet.

"Ronnie Anne, you gotta see this!" Sergio shouted as he flew in through an open window.

"Not now, Sergio! The whole family's just gone! Disappeared, just like that! We have to figure out what to do!" Ronnie argued.

"Um, then maybe you ought to step outside." Sergio told her.

Ronnie Anne then led the other three boys outside in response to Sergio's warning. She stepped outside to see what could only be described as absolute chaos.

Crashed cars, buses and vans were seen all around her from every direction. Fires and smoke began to engulf the surrounding area. Inside a few of those cars were crying babies or little children. There were a few small children on the sidewalk, as well. Seemingly abandoned by their parental figures, though those who had figured it out knew the real reason for their isolation.

"What happened out here?!" Ronnie Anne asked.

"All the adults. They just vanished!" Sergio informed them.

"Just like all the adults in our family?" CJ questioned.

"Yep. They were here, and now they're gone!" the bird insisted.

"But… how? How could all of this happen?!" Ronnie Anne muttered in disbelief and fear.

Unsure of what to do, she decided to go upstairs to her room and call the one person she believed could give her some much-needed wisdom.

She switched on her camera, similar to when she started up her Vlog podcasts, and tried to get in touch with her close friend.

For a moment, there was no response. Ronnie reflected on this with sadness and hopelessness as she came to realise it wasn't likely her white-haired friend would respond to her call. He was probably dealing with the same crisis as she was, and was in too much chaos to be talking with her.

She began to walk out of the room, when suddenly…

"Ronnie Anne?" a familiar voice called out to her.

"Lincoln? You Answered." She replied with a sense of relief.

"Yeah. I imagine you called because the same thing happened to you." Lincoln assumed.

"They're gone. Mom, dad, Bobby. All the adults in our family just vanished in a second!" Ronnie informed him.

"Same here. My parents, Lori and Leni are all gone. My sisters tried calling Pop-Pop from the retirement home, and there was no reply. My Aunt Ruth probably vanished, too. Oh, and Clyde just called me, and he says his dads are gone. It's not looking good for anyone right now." he stated.

"This is a disaster! What are we all going to do?! We don't even know what caused all this mess!" she worried.

"I don't know! But if nobody knows what to do, then we all might have to get by on our own for a while. If so, we're going to have to be strong for each other. Me for my family, and you for yours." Lincoln told his friend.

"I know. I guess this is gonna be the last time we speak to each other for a while. I mean, without any grown-ups to take care of everything, the internet is bound to go down anytime now." she claimed.

"Probably. If they don't come back, I think there are going to be a lot of changes taking place. We just have to make sure we're ready for them… I'll miss you." He said.

"I hope we see each other again one day. Before we could just see each other with a simple van ride, but I guess there aren't a lot of people left who can drive cars and vans." She pointed out.

"Not legally, anyway." He said as he chuckled, trying to find what little humour he could in such a dire situation.

"I guess this is it." Ronnie sadly stated.

"For now, it has to be. Goodbye, Ronnie Anne." Lincoln said, shedding a single teardrop from his eye.

"Goodbye… lame-o." she affectionately called him one last time.

And with that, the two distant friends parted ways. They were uncertain if they would ever see each other again.

…things were about to change, and not for the better. A new way of living, and many hardships, were all about to succeed the events of that day… the day of 'The Big Vanish'.

* * *

They weren't the only ones. Sensing it may be their last night to do so, several of the Loud sisters who had friends or followers of their work who lived far away decided they ought to say goodbye while they still had the chance.

"Goodbye, fellow pranksters. Remember to keep smiling through good times and bad." Luan posted on her Luan Out Loud website for her die-hard fans to see.

"Farewell, followers of the undead realm. It looks like I'll be embracing a new kind of darkness for a while. Radio silence." Lucy posted onto an online forum she frequently visited titled 'Dark Demons Dungeon'.

Lisa would have done the same, but she felt no need, given that most of her far away friends were all adults, so naturally, there was no one she could contact, like her qualified science allies from the institute. Darcy and her Kindergarten friends were still in walking range from her.

Of course, social networking sites were ablaze with messages and updates from crazed, terrified children, posting their thoughts, rumours and knowledge about what happened and what it meant going forward. Like the Loud children, many of them were saying farewell to their online friends for the last time.

* * *

The night that followed was not any more pleasant for the youthful souls that were left behind. Nine of the eleven siblings remained in a now cold, dark and desolate household, with no parents to maintain control of their instabilities. Even though the family was still fairly sizable despite the loss of four of its own, the place felt empty. Something important was missing.

All nine children sat around in the living room, saddened by their loss. Luna, who was the oldest Loud remaining, felt compelled to speak to the rest of them.

"Alright, dudes. Today has been rough." She started to talk as she lit up the room around them with a candle.

"Jee, you think?!" Lola retaliated with aggressive sarcasm.

"But what we need to start thinking about is how we're gonna survive!" she insisted.

"What do you mean?" Lana asked.

"I'm afraid our older sibling is referring to the difficulties we are going to face going forward. A loss of all the globe's matured individuals is going to leave the world a shell of its former status." Lisa deducted.

"She's right, I'm sad to say." Lincoln said.

"In what ways will it change then, smarty-pants?" Lynn questioned.

"Well, for one thing, the power has gone out, and it won't be switching back on anytime soon. So, get used to this darkness." Lisa explained.

"Great." she responded sarcastically.

"Wicked." Lucy added, though coming from her, it was genuine enthusiasm.

"Okay, dudes. I think we've all had enough stressful thoughts for one day! Let's just try and sleep on this and deal with it all tomorrow." Luna reasoned.

"How can we sleep with all this going on?" Luan asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't we be heading out and kicking whoever's butt is responsible for all this?!" Lynn angrily put forward.

"But who or what even is responsible? We don't know!" Lincoln said.

"I've been dabbling in the fields of science my whole life…" Lisa started.

"Which is only four years." Lynn said with intended snark.

"As I was saying, for all my knowledge of the world and how everything is and works, I can't confirm the causation of today's events. It's baffling." She stated.

"Well, arguing about it isn't going to make things better. I say we try and get some rest, and then figure out where to go from here after we've recharged." Luna told her siblings.

"I agree. Today was pretty exhausting." Lincoln said as he let out a big yawn.

With that, the Loud siblings agreed to try and fall asleep, if they even could, with everything on their minds. Each Loud took their turn saying "goodnight" to the rest of the group before finally shutting down.

* * *

But for all their losses that day, the Louds and the Casagrandes were possibly among the more fortunate of the children to have experienced this tragic event. They were together and in their homes at the moment of the big disappearance. Some kids were not so fortunate…

…one small boy was left stranded in the middle of a camping trip in the woods when all the adults vanished. He was all alone in the dark regions of the woods. He managed to survive on his own for hours by keeping away from predators and a bit of blind luck.

He ran through the dark green-scape as he feared for his life. Barely any older than Lana or Lola, the young child was terrified as the intimidating atmosphere of where he was, combined with the fact that his parents were no longer there for him, resulted in him panicking and making a run for it out of instinct.

He eventually stumbled and fell to the ground. Exhausted, he gathered what remained of his energy to look up.

Standing before him was a horrific sight. It wasn't a wild animal, but it was something far more distressing to look at.

It was another small boy. Perhaps only a couple of years older than the boy on the ground himself. Except his appearance was rather unsettling. His skin was a really pale white, his gums had decayed to a point where he had a mouth of mould, though his teeth, while discoloured, were still sharp and deadly. His eyes were yellow with red bloodshot patterns, and there was a tiny chunk of metal wedged into the side of his head.

After a few seconds of motionless staring, it let out a monstrous scream…

…before preparing to attack the vulnerable little child.

* * *

**_Authors footnote:_ **

_For those of you who haven't seen this before, this is a story I have already completed on FanFiction.net. It concluded last month. I plan on uploading at least one new chapter onto this website per day, but for those of you who don't want to wait that long, please feel free to check out the full story on that website. As such, I shouldn't need to include an author's footnote for every chapter this time around, since they were mainly used for updates at the time, etc.._


	2. The Day After

*BUZZZZZ*

The alarm clock, one of the few electrical devices still operating, went off at 7:00am in the morning.

The remaining group of Loud children awoke from their sleep. They were about to get up and step out into a whole new world created by the events of 'The Big Vanish'.

Not that they were really waking up in the strictest sense. They weren't exactly in a sleeping mood the night before, for very obvious reasons.

"Turn off that dang clock!" Lynn shouted, resisting the call to get up.

"Chill, dude. I'll get it." Luna said as she reached for the clock and stopped it from ringing.

"Ugh! That was horrible. I had no sleep at all. Completely inappropriate for a pageant princess!" Lola moaned.

"Yeah. That's the biggest of our worries!" Lincoln sarcastically responded.

"Hey, what did you wake up on the wrong side of?!" Lola bit back.

"Sorry, Lola. I'm just a little irritable. I didn't get good sleep, either, and sometimes sarcasm just gives a little relief." he explained.

"Look, dudes. I don't think any of us got good sleep last night, and we all know why. I'm not going to stand here and lie that it's not going to be tough from today and moving forward. But what I do know is that we need each other if we're going to make it through this!" Luna stood and told her younger siblings.

"I agree with Luna. We need to work together to come up with a way to deal with this." Lincoln said.

"Perhaps we should start our day by gathering what information we can about the current predicament by checking certain circumstantial factors." Lisa suggested.

"Right! Let's turn on the TV and get the news on!" Lynn said.

Lynn then tried turning on the TV, while forgetting about the obvious problem with trying to do that.

"Um, Lynn." Lincoln tried to comment.

But she ignored him as she kept trying to get it to work.

"It's not working!" Lana yelled.

"Dang it!" Lynn angrily let out.

"The power is out, remember?" Lucy reminded her.

"Ugh! Right, sorry. This is just a lot to take in, it completely slipped my mind." Lynn justified.

"Understandable, but still a demonstration of naivety. If we are going to survive this, we are going to have to be collectively smarter and savvier than that." Lisa stated.

"I guess we'll have to go outside and get some news the old-fashioned way." Luan told the rest.

"Good idea, sis. There's bound to be somebody around that knows something we don't." Luna replied.

"Yeah, that's cool and all, but what about having some breakfast first?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" Lynn added.

"I want some eggs!" Lola demanded.

"I want mine hard boiled!" Luan continued.

"I want mine devilled." Lucy said.

"Um, guys… remember, no power?" Lincoln reminded his sisters.

"Ugh!" all of the sisters except Luna blurted out in unison.

"So, let me get this straight. From now on, there's no TV, no oven, no cooking…?" Lola asked.

"Affirmative." Lisa said.

"NO! I can't believe I'll have to start living like an animal!" Lola yelled.

"Well, get used to it, Lols. No electricity, no luxuries." Luna said.

"Perhaps we will need to simply settle for a portion of sliced bread each for the morning. Afterwards, I conclude it would be prudent to conduct the search for information." Lisa stated.

* * *

Ronnie Anne and the Casagrande children had a very easy time doing exactly what Lisa suggested. Despite the dawn of a new, degenerate world being prevalent, there was still an evident ease in being able to obtain vital information in such a compact part of society like the big city.

"Extra! Extra! Loss of all adults results in great expenses!" one boy shouted on a street corner, selling a bunch of newspapers.

"We'll take one!" said Ronnie Anne as she walked past the paper boy with her surviving relatives, Carlos Jr, Carl and Carlitos.

CJ was holding Carlitos in his arms while Sergio and Lalo followed the kids. Ronnie Anne began to look at the newspaper, intending to inform the group of any important information.

"Woah, the paper has really gone south!" she criticised.

"Hey!" the paper boy yelled.

"I'm sorry, but this is just awful. There are so many spelling mistakes, the pictures are just drawn in crayon. Heck, it looks like this whole thing was just handwritten by some little dweeb." She harshly but honestly said.

"That 'little dweeb' was me. I wrote it. And yeah, it probably isn't up there with the kind of quality you're used to. In case it slipped your mind, there is no electricity. That means no machines to professionally produce papers like these! So, I would thank you for not judging my work by unfairly high standards!" the boy defensively put it.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." She apologised before proceeding to read it.

After a brief moment of reading to herself, she shared the information with her relatives.

"Guys! It says here that it's all the adults all over the world who have disappeared, just like the rumours said. Not just here, not just in the country, but the whole world!" she said.

"Yeah, just like we thought! What else?" Carl asked.

"There are rumours that this whole adults disappearing thing is to do with a theory about judgement day. Apparently, god judged that the earth would be better without all the corrupted, impure people of the world, in other words, all those who have lived long enough to face corruption, and decided to erase them as a means to cleanse the earth." She said.

"What a load of garble." CJ commented.

"I'll say!" said one other stray city boy walking past the group at that moment.

"There's more. This thing is saying that all the surviving children are going to start banding together to form groups and factions in a fight to claim all the remaining resources…" she started.

_Cutting back to Lisa, who is reading about the same subject matter to her family, who have done the same thing as the Casagrandes and gone outside to find out exactly what's going on…_

"Resources like food in stores and supermarkets, as well as factories and warehouses. Gangs of kids are raiding them as we speak for food that will last them for a while." Lisa elaborated.

"What about growing our own food?" Lincoln asked.

"Not everyone is good at planting and growing crops, especially under the age of 16. Some people will have to rely on the already made food that was left behind. For as long as it keeps anyway. Another resource of great value is batteries. They're the only source of electrical power left. Something independent of the power grid." Lisa continued.

"But batteries can hardly power up anything! They're no good for what I'm going to need to play video games, except some of the handheld ones!" Lincoln said.

"No, but they will work for things like clocks, calculators, scales, cameras…" Lana said, before being cut off.

"Oh, nothing useful, then." Lola irritatingly responded.

"The little luxuries of life it looks like are going to be a thing of the past… sigh." Lucy grimly contributed.

_Cutting back to Ronnie Anne, who is still explaining her findings to her remaining family…_

"The point is, guys, we've got to stick together to make sure that we get through all this! Let's be fair, despite the fact that we've lost most of the family, we still have each other!" she told CJ, Carl and Carlitos, before pointing at other stray kids lurking around the city.

And she was right. As the boys looked around them, in every direction there were little boys and girls, alone and frightened, with nobody to look out for them. Many stressed, nervous and unrested because of their loss and vulnerability as a result of the adults vanishing the day before. Some were hiding in alleys, hoping not to be preyed on by older teenagers, some were standing or sitting on street corners, unsure of what to do with themselves or how to function independently. Others were inside buildings, hiding from the big bad world. These unfortunate souls were facing unlikely odds regarding their chances of survival.

"We are lucky… relatively speaking!" she specified.

"She's right! We need to look out for each other!" CJ stated.

_Cutting back to the Loud siblings… who also needed to be reminded of the importance of that._

"Well, this is great and all, but what do we do now?!" Lynn questioned angrily.

"We go looking for food to take!" Luan said.

"But where should we go to get it? Most of the supermarkets and local stores will have already been drained of their stock by now?!" Lola told them.

"I say we try the dumpster!" Lana encouraged enthusiastically.

"Um… how about NO?!" Lola responded.

"Or maybe we should look for a big courier vehicle that crashed somewhere mid-journey. That may have some food in it that we could take." Lincoln suggested.

"Isn't that stealing?" Lucy asked.

"Stealing from owners who don't exist? I'd say survival is all that matters now." Luan said.

"I guess so." Lucy admitted.

"Look, dudes! We can't keep squabbling like this! Right now, all the goods are being taken by other kids!" Luna told her siblings.

"Right. How about Luna, Luan and Lynn go one way, and I take the others and go the other direction. Between both groups, we're sure to find something." Lincoln stated.

"Who died and made you king of the Louds?!" Lola challenged.

"Yeah! Why should we listen to you?!" Lynn followed.

"But he does have a good plan." Lucy said.

"Nobody asked you!" Lola barked.

As the siblings began to fight and bicker, and siblings typically do when tensions rise, Luna felt she needed to regain control of the situation so the family didn't descend into chaos and destroy their chances for survival.

She picked up her electric guitar and tried to blast out a thunderous noise in order to get her siblings to stop and listen. Unfortunately for her when she tried to do so…

"Oops. Right, the power doesn't work. Duh!" she said to herself in irritation, remembering that her guitar's power was connected to an electronic box that no longer operated.

As a backup option, Luna simply picked up her guitar, and smashed it on the ground. The thud was enough to make her siblings stop arguing and listen.

"Listen up, dudes! I won't stand by and let what's left of my family whine and moan about everything when we need to be getting our acts together and helping each other out! Mom and Dad are GONE! So are Lori and Leni! I'm going to be praying every night that they come back! I really hope they do! But if they don't, then we need to fend for ourselves! Now come on! I say we follow our bro's plan. It's as good an idea as any of us have got!" Luna commandingly told her siblings.

"Woah, when did you get so serious?" Lynn asked.

"Since it was obvious someone in the family had to take charge." Luna said.

And with that, the siblings set off to find food and other valuable resources that would aid them in their prolonged survival. The Louds were a large family unit, which gave them an advantage when it came to their odds of making it through the aftermath.

* * *

Other kids were not so fortunate, and had to rely on friendships, bonds, alliances and agreements in order to have support from others in the newly created hostile world. Clyde, who was an only child, had to go out and search for anyone he knew. Naturally, he tried the Loud House first…

"Lincoln?" Clyde asked as he knocked on the front door.

But they were out searching for resources, unbeknownst to him.

"Lincoln? Lori? Anyone?" Clyde asked as he knocked again.

He turned away from the house, fearing he was all alone and nobody was there for him. Thankfully, as he turned around, he saw a cathartic sight.

"Hey, Clyde! Thank goodness you're here!" said a familiar voice.

"Stella? Guys?!" Clyde blurted out in relief.

Stella, along with his other school friends, Liam, Zach and Rusty were all there.

"We were looking for you at your place, but you weren't home!" Liam said.

"I was looking for Lincoln." Clyde replied.

"Is he not there?" Zach asked.

"It doesn't look like it." Clyde stated.

"Oh no, I hope he's okay." Stella said out of concern.

"It's a shame there's no more power. Otherwise, we could call him." Liam said.

"I know, my phone battery died not long after my parents disappeared." Clyde confirmed.

"Yeah, that sucks. But Lincoln has got LOTS of sisters. I'm sure they're all looking out for him. Besides, we've already got six of us to think about." Rusty justified.

"Six?" Clyde questioned, not thinking a sixth person was present.

"Yeah, my brother Rocky is here, too. Couldn't just leave him." Rusty said as he sidestepped and revealed his little brother was standing behind him.

"Oh, right. Well, hopefully Lincoln will turn up sooner or later. For now, we should probably find some shelter. It looks like rain." Clyde said as he pointed upwards at an increasingly grey sky.

The group began to walk across the streets of Royal Woods in search for some abandoned property of any kind to stay in. As they did so, they looked around. Like the Louds and Casagrandes, they saw some pretty unnerving sights as they wandered…

Lots of wreckage, crashed cars all over the place, blocking a lot of roadways and making travel harder for those left behind. The visual carnage only served to remind the children of the damaged and disorderly world that the disappearing adults left behind.

More small children and babies alone and vulnerable. Crying to themselves as the realisation came to them that they were unlikely to make it. Clyde and the other kids looked around in fright and disgust over the kind of place they were in.

But their biggest concern was about to stare them in the face…

"Hold up, guys." Stella said as she put her hand out, signalling for her friends to stop walking.

In front of the gang appeared a duo of large, burly teenagers. Their reputations preceded them, as they were known to be destructive delinquents. The two of them saw the gang and approached them with evil grins on their faces.

"What are you two doing showing your faces here?!" asked an angry Stella.

"Oh, this kitten's got claws. I like that." Hawk teasingly responded.

"Um, we should just turn around and walk away." Clyde said nervously.

"I agree." Rusty shamelessly told the others, visibly afraid.

"No, we have to stand our ground." Stella insisted.

"Pfft. At least one of you has balls." Hank mockingly said.

"Look, we were just walking by, minding our own. Why don't you just do the same?" Stella proposed.

"Yeah, you city folk ought to learn some country manners." Liam added.

"He said we don't have manners?" Hank asked.

"Yeah, I think you're right. These dorks are disrespecting us!" Hawk said angrily.

"Look, we're sorry. Let's just go and pretend we never saw each other." Rusty said as he turned around and tried to walk off.

But that was a bad move, as there were several other similarly sized burly teenage thugs approaching from behind them.

"You see, with all the grown-ups gone, there's no one to stop us from taking control of this backwater town! In a world where's it's just us, the strong survive, and the weak take a dive!" Hawk explained.

"Ha, good one!" Hank commented.

"Now guys, can't we negotiate this?" Clyde desperately asked.

"Sure. You guys give us everything you have on you. As in money, or anything that might interest us. Then we'll let you go." Hawk said.

"Yeah, or else we'll just beat you guys up and take it anyway!" Hank continued.

"Look, guys. We don't want any trouble. We really don't have anything, so…" Rusty tried to explain, but he was cut off.

"LYING to us?! Oh, that's just making things worse!" Hank responded.

"Yeah, we don't like slimy little snakes! So, make it easier on yourself and give us the goods!" Hawk demanded.

Rusty, Zach and Clyde stepped back and cowered against the threat made against them. Stella, Liam and Rocky tried to stand their ground, but they were all still outnumbered and greatly outmatched by the gang of big, strongly built athletes.

"Okay, fine! Take it! Take all of it!" Rusty pleaded with them, as he emptied his pockets to reveal… a measly two dollars and a small bar of chewing gum.

Clyde then did the same, and he had five dollars to give them.

"Um… I really don't have anything with me, except…" Zach tried to say, but Hawk picked him up and dangled him by one of the legs.

His house keys fell out of his pocket.

"Look what we have here! Keys to the house!" Hank said.

"No, give those back!" Zach shouted.

"I bet they all have house keys. Their parents aren't here, so they must have taken them to go outside. Let's take 'em!" Hawk said.

"No! Get off!" Stella yelled as the thugs began advancing on her and the others.

Stella and the boys did their best to put up a fight, but their efforts were futile, given the numbers and strength advantage of the opposing gang.

Clyde, Rusty, Liam and Zach all received brutal punches to the face that knocked them down like bowling pins, one by one. Little Rocky actually managed to bust one bully's nose, but he was quickly overwhelmed afterwards. Stella kicked and screamed as she did her best to fend off the boys, but they grabbed hold of her and picked her up. They taunted as they carried her over to one of the dumpster bins in the street. They opened the lid, and violently tossed the young girl in, completely humiliating and demoralising her.

"HOUSE RAID!" Hawk shouted as the thugs swiped all the house keys of the kids they had just victimised.

With that, the bullies ran off in victory, no doubt to steal from the houses of the poor young children they just left lying on the ground, badly beaten.

"Ow." Zach muttered as he lied there in pain alongside his friends.

* * *

Hank and Hawk weren't the only ones taking advantage of the fact that society had crumbled and the monopoly for power was up for grabs. As Ronnie Anne and her relatives were discussing after having collected all the information they could about the aftermath of 'The Big Vanish'…

"So, apparently we need to watch out for big groups and cults roaming the streets and towns. That paper said that kids are forming lots of 'mini-states', sorta like tribes. These groups are especially prone to fighting for territorial dominance with each other." Ronnie Anne said.

"Yeah? Well, all those jerks have better watch themselves with me around!" Carl bragged.

"Oh, right… sure. I bet they're all soiling themselves at the thought of having to take on the great and powerful Carl Casagrande!" Ronnie sarcastically mocked.

"Hey, I'm tough! You'll see, soon I'll be the one running this dump! Then I'll get some respect!" Carl told his cousin.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ronnie Anne said as she interrupted Carl's rant.

At the other end of the street, she saw her friends, Sid Chang, Nikki, Sameer and Casey.

As she ran over to greet her friends, they noticed her, too.

"Ronnie Anne!" Sid shouted in excitement.

Ronnie and Sid then ran over to each other and hugged, thankful to see each other given the hard time they, along with everyone else, were dealing with.

"I'm sure glad to see you." Sid said.

"Right back at ya. How are you dealing with this?" Ronnie Anne asked her friends.

"It's not easy, we won't lie. But we have managed to make it so far." Nikki replied.

"Yeah, I miss my family." Sid sadly confessed as she sighed.

"Wait. Sid, I know your parents obviously faded away and everything, but what about your sister?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Oh, you mean Adelaide? Mom and dad took her out to the park to play in the sandbox for a while. I was left in the apartment alone for an hour. They never came back. After I found out what happened yesterday, I ran to the park to find Adelaide, but she was gone. I don't know where she is!" Sid worryingly stated.

"Sorry to hear that." CJ sympathetically responded.

"Well, you guys should probably stick with us. Strength in numbers, and all that." Casey said.

"Good plan." Ronnie agreed.

"Let's get back to our hideout! I think we've gathered enough food between us for the night." Nikki said.

"Cool! I'm starving, let's eat!" Carl happily agreed.

And with that, the Casagrandes made some new allies. All the better, as they knew they would need strength in numbers if they were to keep pushing on in the new, hostile world without adults or authority.

* * *

Sunset approached as the Loud family made their way back to their neighbourhood, having successfully located an abandoned vehicle full of valuable food and fluids. Each family member was carrying multiple bags of goods, as much as each of them could hold and walk with.

"I gotta admit, bro. That was a pretty sweet plan." Lana said.

"Yeah, you really used that little noggin of yours." Luna complimented.

"Aw, thanks. It just came to me in the moment." Lincoln stated.

"With this much food and water, we should have enough to last us at least several weeks, maybe even a few months!" Lucy suggested.

"Contrary to Lucy's prediction, I estimate that given the quantity of retrieved edible goods, take it by the rate of consumption we typically indulge in, and divided by the nine of us, the food we have is only likely to last a month at best." Lisa deducted.

"Ugh! Leave it to the Brainiac to spoil the good moments." Lola moaned.

"She might be right though, dudes. I think we have to consider dialling back on how much we eat and drink. Bare necessities and all that." Luna stated.

"What?! No way! I need lots of protein and carbs for my diet. If I don't get a calorie surplus, I can't get stronger!" Lynn complained.

"I'm sorry, sis, but tough times are ahead. Right now, we need to focus on staying alive, and that means making our food and drink last. Besides LJ, you're already strong enough." Luna justified.

"ARGH!" Lynn yelled in frustration.

"She's right, Lynn." Lucy said.

"I concur with Luna. Rationing is a necessity in times like this." Lisa defended.

With that, the Louds recognised the extent to which luxuries were being cut out from their lives to make way for the priority of survival. Not only did it look like their hobbies and ambitions were taking a backseat to the gravity of the current situation, it appeared even their consumption of food was about to be seriously restricted.

But when the group arrived back at their house, as they approached the front door, something worthy of their attention was nearby.

"Hey, I see something." Lincoln said in curiosity.

The white-haired boy then dropped his bags and quickly ran over to what appeared to be a bunch of kids, beaten up and left in a heap in the middle of the street.

When he finally got close, he became shocked and horrified at what was laying on the ground in front of him.

His friends. Clyde, Rusty, Liam and Zach, and even Rusty's little brother. Stella, too, who was lying on the ground next to a dumpster that had been knocked over.

"Guys! What happened to you!?" Lincoln asked as he checked on the well-being of his friends.

His sisters then slowly walked over to the scene to see what the commotion was about.

"Hey, what happened here?" Lana asked.

"It… was… horrible!" an injured Clyde muttered.

"What was? Tell me, buddy." Lincoln requested as he grabbed a hold of his best friend and tried to help ease his pain.

"Hank… Hawk… watch out! They're here… they're in control… get in your house… lock the door!" Clyde struggled to say as he warned the Louds.

"Hank and Hawk? You mean those two jerks who hurt my leg that time?!" Lynn angrily recalled as she drove her first into her palm.

"Yeah, we scared them away at Halloween, remember?" Luan recollected.

"Well, it looks like they're taking advantage of the fact that there's no adults to stop them from being bullies." Lincoln said.

"Yeah, well, we'll be waiting for them!" Lola told them as she raised her fist into the air, as if she was declaring war.

"Alright! We don't know when or if those thugs will be back, so we better get inside with our grub. We're in for a long, dark night ahead without any streetlights! Lock all the doors and windows and be prepared for any attacks during the night. I know one thing, we're not giving up our house without a fight!" Luna declared to her siblings.

"YEAH!" all the siblings shouted in agreement.

The fight was on.


	3. Countdown

The Louds woke up the following morning after the night they returned home with food. Because of the apparent threat of Hank and Hawk's gang, the siblings took turns over the night watching outside in case of attack. By the time sunrise came about, it was Lincoln's turn.

"Okay, guys. Time to get up." Lincoln said to his sisters.

"Ugh, I'm having such long nights, yet so little sleep. I need sleep for the energy." Lynn moaned as she began to wake up.

"Yeah, a princess needs her beauty sleep." Lola said.

"I don't mind the sleepless nights. I enjoy the surrounding darkness." Lucy responded.

"I think it's safe to say we aren't going to sleep soundly for a while. We've got plenty on our minds right now." Luna reminded them.

"Yeah, like how on earth we're gonna fix this." Lana said.

"Well, why don't we ask four eyes over there?" Lynn suggested, as she tilted her head in the direction of her brainy sister, Lisa.

"Excuse me?" Lisa defensively asked.

"Well, she has a point! You're the smart one, why don't you think of a way to fix this?!" Lola questioned.

"As I informed you all two days ago, I am unaware of what caused the events of 'The Big Vanish' to transpire. As such, I am currently unable to construct a solution. But I will continue to dedicate research into resolving this. But having no power source will make that more challenging." Lisa explained.

"In the meantime, we have bigger worries. We've got to protect ourselves from bullies and thieves." Lucy said.

"Did anyone see any sign of Hank and Hawk?" Lincoln asked.

"Nope." Luan replied.

"Nuh-uh." Lola added.

"No zilcho." Lana confirmed.

"They better not come here, unless they want a one-way ticket to pain town!" Lynn said as she cracked her knuckles.

"It's no joke. They've got as many as we have, and they have a fairly big weight advantage." Lincoln noted.

"Our bro is right, which is why I say we need to lay low for a little while. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves." Luna wisely told her siblings.

"Perhaps we may also determine it necessary to secure the parameters of this designated base?" Lisa suggested.

"Huh?" asked a confused Lynn.

"Lisa's right. We should build a wall of some kind around the house, or at least barricade the doors and windows." Lincoln claimed.

"If it means more darkness, I'm in." Lucy said.

"Okay, then. We'll get to work on some rockin' defences for the house. No dumb bullies are gonna break into our place and steal our stuff! Now, Luan and Lincoln. You two will quickly go out and find some wood and stuff we can use to build the defences." Luna ordered.

"Got it." Said both Luan and Lincoln.

"Lynn, Lana. You two will do all the lifting and building." Luna said next.

"Okay, Lans. Let's do this!" Lynn encouraged.

"Yeah!" Lana excitedly said back, before the two gave each other a body slam.

"Lola. I want you to use your ability to make everything look pretty to downplay the appearance of the defences. Make it look like less than it is. As I said before, we don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves." Luna stated.

"Too easy." Lola bragged in response.

"Lisa and Lucy. You will stay here and keep lookout over the house. If anyone approaches us, you blow this horn." Luna told them as she passed Lucy an old instrument of hers.

"Okay." Lucy said.

"Alright, dudes. I'll help out with all your jobs where I can. Let's get on with it. The longer it takes for us to secure ourselves, the longer we're in danger." Luna eerily reminded the others.

And with that, the Louds got to work on keeping themselves safe.

* * *

Badly beaten and bruised, the group of Clyde, Rusty, Rocky, Liam, Zach and Stella all slowly wandered their way out of Royal Woods, desperately trying to avoid any other violent thugs or gangs along the way.

"Ow, I can't feel my toes." Rusty said in pain.

"You've been whining about it all day! You weren't even hit in the feet!" Liam replied.

"Look, we were all attacked and badly wounded yesterday. Let's just keep our voices down and not attract any attention to ourselves, and maybe we'll be just fine." Stella quietly advised.

"I just hope Lincoln and his sisters are okay. I'd hate for them to suffer the same fate as we did." Clyde said.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about them. They've got a violent sports nut, a scheming pageant girl, a borderline psychotic prankster, and an evil science genius among them. I'd be more worried about the poor fools that try to take them on." Zach stated.

"Even still, that gang that beat us up, there were at least 10 of them, and they were all big and bulky." Rusty noted.

As the group continued to walk, they passed the sign saying 'You are now leaving Royal Woods' followed by 'Please enjoy your day' on it. The kids knew they had left town, and they weren't turning back.

Up ahead, they could see a large forest area. But even they, despite being kids, knew better…

"We should avoid that jungle up there. It could be full of all kinds of savage animals." Clyde warned.

"Yeah, we'll walk around it and try to find the next town." Stella said.

Soon enough, the group found themselves walking past a site of gravestones.

"Funny, I don't remember there being a graveyard out here." Liam commented.

"Neither do I." Zach agreed.

"I don't even know why there would be one this far out of town." Clyde nervously said.

Weirded out, the kids just kept walking forward. They observed the stones and saw that there were no names or writing on them. Instead, they had weird drawings carved into them. One that resembled a humanistic figure, except it had soulless, dead eyes and razor-sharp teeth. Another of the drawings appeared to be a scene of one man physically eating another helpless guy alive.

"A little creepy." Liam said.

Then there was one especially large gravestone, about 8 feet in height. The drawing chiselled into it was of several undead, hypnotised corpses standing beside a tall and imposing figure in the middle. A leader of sorts, who had a sadistic, evil grin as he stood tall.

"What are these drawings? They're spooking me out!" Rusty anxiously said to the gang.

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out if the people who carved them are still around. Let's go!" Stella ordered.

But just as the kids were about to make a run for it, several darkly clothed children began to emerge from behind each of the gravestones.

"WOAH!" Rusty blurted out in fear and shock.

"ARGH! Zombies!" Clyde terrifyingly shouted before hiding behind Liam.

"Who stumbles into our land? Are you among the living?" one of the children ominously said.

"Huh?" Stella responded.

"Their mouths are dentally sound, and their skin has pigment." Another of the children observantly pointed out.

"Why are you trespassing in our domain?" the first child asked.

"We were just wandering. Why? Who are you?" Clyde asked.

"All in good time. Since you've seen us, we can't just let you go. Come with us, we'll ask our leader what we should do with you." the child said.

And with that, Clyde and the others were forced to walk with these children back to wherever it was they were taking them. Needless to say, it was a walk of nervousness and uncertainty.

* * *

Ronnie Anne and Sid were searching through the city for any resources they could find and take back to their friends. Anything from food to clothes, batteries, abandoned electrical devices, and so on.

"I still can't believe all this has happened!" Sid said to her friend.

"I know. Just a couple of days ago, me and my big familia were sitting at home watching TV. Now, it's only a small familia and we're looking out for leftovers!" Ronnie Anne reflectively stated.

"Well, I'm also looking for my sister. I'm hoping I bump into her somewhere out here in the streets." Sid explained.

"Everything's changed, and not for the better." Ronnie sadly said.

"I've noticed there's more rats than ever!" Sid pointed out as just spotted a massive swarm of them on the other side of the road.

"Yeah, there's a huge swarm of them now that so many buildings have no one inside and some of them have been left open. Perfect chance for them to jump in and eat all the scraps." Ronnie explained.

The two girls then walked into an alley, hoping they may be able to salvage something from their travels.

"Of course, you can't blame the rats. I mean, here we are doing the exact same thing as them. Hanging around the city, hoping to come across something good that all the vanished people left behind." Ronnie continued.

Just then, a dustbin lid fell to the ground, causing an audible 'clang' to be heard.

The two girls quickly turned around, being alert to the potential danger behind them. Behind them were a duo of familiar pre-teen kids. One was a tall, slender male. The other was a short, blonde-haired girl with a thick uni-brow.

"You two! You're those girls who came to the wrestling club that one time!" shouted the boy.

"Yeah, and you're Becky, and… that other kid, right?" Ronnie asked as she tried to recollect the occasion.

"We're you're worst nightmare! That's who we are!" Becky replied venomously.

Without warning, the two kids then charged relentlessly at Ronnie Anne and Sid.

Ronnie stood her ground and prepared to fight back, though Sid wasn't as confident or eager to get in on the action. She stepped back and considered running away, but her loyalty to Ronnie was enough for her to at least stay in the alley with her.

The tall boy attacked Ronnie Anne and the two engaged in a grapple. The two wrestled with each other to take the other one down to the ground. Eventually, Ronnie slipped through the boy's grip and managed to quickly step behind him, where she delivered a brutal suplex.

"ARGH!" cried the boy as his head and back hit the ground hard.

Meanwhile, Sid was getting tossed around like a rag doll by the smaller yet strong and aggressive Becky. Sid was not a fighter, and it was showing. She got knocked to the ground, where she became defensive and afraid.

"Agh! Okay, you can have whatever you want, I don't have much anyway! Please, I don't want to fight!" Sid begged.

Becky stopped in her tracks. Rowdy and aggressive she may have been, but there was actually a fairly decent-hearted, polite and civil little girl blended in with her violent persona. Even during a time where she was being pushed to desperation, she began to hesitate.

"Alright, go! Before I change my mind." Becky mercifully told her opponent.

Sid took the chance to quickly run for her life, knowing she had no chance of beating Becky. As she ran, however, she looked back and stopped, not wanting to abandon her friend.

Ronnie Anne was still battling with the tall boy, who had her in a headlock.

"This is payback for last time!" he told her.

"Oh yeah? Oh, that's right, last time we got in the ring I walked out fine and you got all groggy and knocked out." She mockingly replied.

"Yeah, well now it's your turn!" he said as he tightened the lock.

However, Ronnie Anne then decided to fight dirty by grabbing the hand of the arm he was using to headlock her and pull back his fingers. She pulled them back enough to make him squeal in pain and release the hold.

Ronnie then tackled him to the ground and delivered a few vicious punches to the face.

"Okay, it was real fun, doing an encore of my first performance, but I've gotta dash." She taunted before getting back up and making a quick getaway.

"I almost had her!" he insisted as he angrily got up after another defeat from the young Hispanic tomboy.

"Yeah, I could see that." Becky replied sarcastically.

"And what about the other girl? Where'd she go?!" he asked.

"Um… she got lucky and escaped. I'll get her next time!" she deceptively told him.

"Eh, there probably won't be a next time. If they got free from us, then it's only a matter of time until they run into another gang and aren't so lucky." he concluded.

* * *

They made it back to the hideout shortly after, ready to share their little story with their friends.

"Hey, guys. You'll never guess what me and Sid did just now. These two wrestlers came along and we laid waste to 'em! It was awesome. I don't mean to brag, but…" Ronnie Anne began to elaborate, before her story was cut short.

"Ronnie Anne! I'm sorry. It's Carl." Nikki said.

"What about him?" she asked.

"He's gone!" CJ told her.

"He's WHAT?!" she responded in shock.

"We left him alone for one minute, and then he was gone." CJ explained.

"Oh no, I knew I should've stayed here, he always likes running off and doing his own thing when nobody's looking!" Ronnie said, annoyed with herself.

"Don't beat yourself up. We were all responsible for letting him sneak out like that." Sameer said.

"Yeah. Besides, he's just a little six year old boy, no older than my sister. How far could he have gone?" Sid stated as reassurance.

"That's what worries me! He's just a kid, thinking much higher of himself than he is! Who knows what kind of trouble he's going to get himself into?!" she worryingly wondered.

* * *

Back at The Loud House, the siblings had finalised setting up the defences for the house. Except for one thing…

"Okay, now that we've got the defences up, what about the weapons?" Lincoln asked.

Everyone immediately looked at Lisa. Under pressure from all angles, the usually stoic sister gave out a little outburst…

"What!? You think I'm just some mad scientist with 'giant frickin' laser blasters' and advanced nuclear mines in my lab? Well, you'd be wrong!" she shouted.

After slightly intimidating her siblings, and getting a chance to calm down, she reverted to her normal monotonous speech pattern, before continuing…

"Besides, most of the weapons I do have run on plutonium and all other sorts of complex chemicals which I won't be able to purchase any more, given the loss of adults and its effects on trade and business." she finished.

"Well, golly, isn't that swell? What do we NOW?!" Lola asked as her sarcastic tone quickly morphed into aggression.

"Well, I've got a baseball bat, some balls, sports equipment. Some of that could be used as weapons." Lynn suggested.

"Yeah, and I've got a slingshot." Luan said as she put a pebble on it and aimed it at Lincoln's head.

"Ow! But I think I've got the perfect idea." Lincoln said as he had a eureka moment.

"What?" Lucy asked.

Lincoln then picked up Lily in his hands.

"Um… babies?" Lana guessed.

"Close…" Lincoln responded.

Just then, Lincoln held Lily away from his face as he could smell a rather fowl stench coming from her diaper.

"I think this explains it quite nicely." Lincoln said as the stench spread around the room and the other sisters could quite literally smell exactly what he meant.

"So, you propose we turn Lily's diapers into weapons?" Luna questioned.

"Well, yeah. We've done it before, in all the times we fought each other over small stuff. Now we can put it to good use more than ever." he rationalised.

"Hmm… interesting idea, brah. It just might work." Luna said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Clyde, Stella and the others were being escorted into an underground cavern. Candles were used to light up the place, and there were some rugs and basic furniture items such as a table, chairs and oddly enough, a blackboard. Naturally, all the furniture was designed to look gothic. Dark coloured, skull patterns and symbols put into them where practical.

"Okay, we did as you asked. We followed you to this weird place. Now could you please tell us who you are?" Stella bravely asked.

She and the boys stood firm but with a sense of underlying fear as their captors circled them, all while having daggers hanging visibly from belts they were wearing on their waists. One of the kids then decided to speak.

"I am Dante, and we are the Mortician's Guard." One of them said.

"The more-what?" Rusty questioned.

"The Mortician's Guard. We deal with all manner concerning the undead. You may bow in honour of the spirits that oversee this lair." Morpheus ordered.

"Better do as he says, guys." Clyde fearfully spoke.

The gang then bowed down as commanded, not wanting to create a conflict with an armed opposition.

"Very good. You may rise, as our leader graces us with her presence." Dante ominously stated as a young girl entered the room.

"Greetings, civilians. I am Haiku, the president and leader of The Mortician's Guard." the goth girl said.

"Haiku? I remember you. We dated once." Clyde mentioned.

"That was another life. It is irrelevant now." Haiku responded.

"Ouch." Rusty remarked at Clyde's expense.

"But I thought you were just The Mortician's Club. What's with you guys being a guard now?" Clyde asked curiously.

"In lieu of recent events, plus of the reported sightings of mystical creatures in the nearby forest, we have dedicated ourselves to fending off the undead and protecting the living children from their wrath." she explained.

"Um… undead?" Liam questioned sceptically.

"Don't doubt the supernatural, Liam. There have been all sorts of conspiracies like this existing for years! I'll bet these 'mystical creatures' they heard about are just aliens coming here to take over the world." Zach stated.

"No, not aliens. Definitely the undead." Boris insisted.

"That's right. Those carvings on the tombstones outside, we did that. They were just made this morning. We made drawings based on the myths and stories we were told by kids who recently went into the woods in search of food the past couple of days… well, the few who made it out alive anyway. Most of them haven't been seen since they went in." Haiku further elaborated.

"We suspect they perished." Dante added.

"We may have a grave obsession with the undead and the underworld, but there are certain standards we uphold. We prefer the company of vampires and other, more stylised and couth ghouls. These abominations are a disrespect to the creatures we worship. Combined with their blatant hostility towards the mortal beings of this world, we saw it fit to form a guard based just outside the forest, so we could protect the living from them." Haiku summarised.

"So… you really believe there are Zombies?" Liam asked, still sceptical of the whole thing.

"Well, assuming any of this is even true, why did you capture us?" Stella questioned.

"You trespassed on Our land!" Dante pointed out.

"We were once an exclusive club, only allowing those who were compatible with our beliefs and interests to join, but circumstances now mean we have to be more flexible. We were hoping some of you may be interested in joining our ranks." Haiku offered.

"Um, well, it's a nice offer, but…" Stella tried to say, but was interrupted.

"We'd really rather not get involved in any way in your fight against a bunch of dead people. So, we'll pass." Rusty said.

"Then we'll have to execute them." another of the Mortician's children said.

"Indeed. They know of our secret hideout. They will expose us." Haiku concluded.

"Uh, to WHO?! There aren't any adults left! Who could we tell that would get you in trouble?!" Stella pointed out.

"She has a point. Very well, if any of you wish to leave, we won't stop you." Haiku said.

And just like that, the Mortician's lowered their hands, and concealed their weapons. Clyde and the others were safe.

"But I strongly advise you consider our proposal. There's strength in numbers in this new world, and the threat we speak of is quite real." Haiku said.

"We'll think about it." Stella replied.

And with that, the gang freely walked out of the cavern, all while watching their back, given the sinister appearance and demeanour of The Mortician's Guard.

"I don't know, I guess it would've been kinda cool to be a bunch of zombie slayers." Zach said.

"Speak for yourself! I don't want any part in all this undead stuff. Things are hard enough as they are." Clyde argued.

As they walked out, the Mortician's Guard had a brief exchange of their own…

"Do you think that was wise, just letting them out? We need more bodies to serve us and our cause." Morpheus said.

"Don't worry. They will come back. They'll be hard pressed to find a better offer in this world of kids fighting for scraps of food and materials." Haiku insisted.

And she had a point.

* * *

As the evening came and the skies dimmed down for the night, the Loud family had to resort to using candles to light up their home, too.

"And… that does it. We've successfully given ourselves a sufficient amount of ammo in case of an attack." Lincoln proudly confirmed.

"That was a great plan you came up with, bro." Luna praised.

"Indeed. Using Lily's well-deserved reputation as 'the poop machine' was a clever touch". Lisa commented.

"Did Lisa just say one of us was smart?" Lana asked.

"Wow, I think we vanished, too, and went up to heaven." Lola sarcastically said.

"If only we were so lucky." Lucy snarked.

"I was providing our male sibling with a compliment. A little less sarcasm would be appreciated." Lisa argued.

"We did a great job. I think our parents and sisters would be proud of us." Lincoln said as he took a photo out of his pocket.

It was a picture of the whole family together, which he was keeping in his pocket as a cherished memory of the family he lost.

"Okay then, dudes. Despite you guys arguing over who got the job of who prepared all the dirty diapers earlier, we got it done. I'm proud of you all." Luna said to her younger siblings.

All of which were delighted to receive such praise, though it did cause a slight amount of unintended backlash…

"Hey, I only suggested that Lana do it instead of me! I mean, she's already into filth and stuff. It's in her comfort zone!" Lola pointed out.

"I may be gross and disgusting, but even I have my limits. Lily's diapers STINK!" Lana argued back.

"Yeah, and Lynn should have been doing it instead of me, too. She loves all those Dutch ovens so much, anyone would think she LOVES the smell of poop." Luan said.

"Ugh! Quit being such a whiner!" Lynn accused.

"Ha, that's better than any joke I've come up with all day. You accusing someone else of being a whiner!" Luan bit back.

"It was better than any joke you've ever came up with in your whole life! Not that that's hard." Lynn insultingly said.

"Burn." Lucy said.

And with a simple little comment like that, the siblings were off on one of their typical conflicts again…

"Um, guys! Knock it off!" Luna tried to command, but the siblings were too absorbed in their fighting to pay any attention.

…at that moment, Luna remembered that in spite of everything that had happened, they were still kids at heart, and they were still siblings that fought over the little things.

"Uh, as exhausting as it is to deal with all this, I will say there's a certain charm to it." Luna said to herself, reflecting on the nature of her siblings.

She decided she would let her siblings tire themselves out with a little childish spat that would inevitably end with them getting some well-deserved rest, ready for the next day.

* * *

Later that night, after the younger siblings tired out and decided to get some sleep, Luna Loud went for a little walk by herself. She needed some fresh air and a little bit of alone time after looking after and handling her siblings for a whole day.

"Woah, dude. That was rough." Luna said to herself exhaustedly.

She looked into the window of a house she was standing beside. She stared into the reflection of herself and grew a sad and tired expression on her face. It was tough for her. It was taking a lot out of her to grow up so fast and take responsibility for her siblings so suddenly, but she knew it had to be done. Her family needed her.

She continued walking along the street as her foot stepped onto a newspaper. She could tell it was recent as it was written in pencil and had the typical grammatical errors you would expect from a child author.

"I wonder if this is today's?" she asked herself as she picked it up.

To her horror, the front page contained a heading that caused her heart to sink…

It read _'Destined to Dissappear at 16'_.

She then continued to read the article itself, complete with all the errors one would expect…

_"Ackording to word of mouth, as with what happened durring what many call 'The Big Vanish', it turns out the affect is ongoing. It didnt just take away all those who were 16 or older at the time. All those left behind who have turned 16 in the past two days have vanished on there birthdays. It would appear time is counting down for evryone, especialy those who are already 15 right now"._

Luna was completely taken aback by what she was reading. It was such a petrifying experience for her, especially considering she was already 15 and her 16th birthday wasn't that far away. The clock was ticking for her, she didn't have much time left.

As she began to crumble on the inside, she quickly applied a sense of self-discipline, making sure she retained her inner strength…

"No, dude! You gotta be strong for them!" she told herself, trying to hold back tears.


	4. House Raid

A few days had passed for the world left behind after the events of 'The Big Vanish'. The Loud family had successfully managed to secure their household with defence measures.

It was three days removed from 'The Big Vanish', and it was early evening. The sun was beginning to set and the Loud family were sitting down together, reminiscing over past times with a book of old family photos. Two of the siblings were not present in the room, however, due to being on lookout duty.

"Hey, remember that time when we taught Leni to be more aggressive and she went into that clothes store and kicked everyone's butts?!" Lynn enthusiastically asked as she pointed to a picture of Leni defeating another teenager in a fight over a dress at 'Reininger's.

"Yeah, dude. I'll be honest, I didn't know Leni had it in her." Luna said as she then flipped to the next page.

"Oh, that was the time when we all teamed up to face Bobby when we thought he was cheating on Lori." Lana recalled as she pointed at the picture of the entire group walking off to confront Bobby.

"Yeah, and then it turned out we got the wrong end of the stick." Lincoln remembered and chuckled.

"And I remember this one. This was when we went on a vacation on one of Flip's stupid ships and we all got stuck on a desert island without any help." Lola said as she pointed at another photo of the Louds on a boat, recollecting that it got destroyed and left the family stranded, as was typical for an item purchased from the infamous con man.

"You know something? We were lucky to be part of such a large family, along with Mom and Dad, and Leni and Lori." Luan stated.

"I know what you mean, dude. They were the first four people in this house. Without them, we wouldn't be who we are today." Luna agreed.

"Yeah, besides, look at all these photos. Becoming tougher, banding together for a common goal, putting our survival instincts and skills to good use when we're left stranded without technology… those are all things that are happening now!" Lincoln pointed out.

"He's right, dudes! I think we're lucky to be Louds. We could be dealt with a tough situation at any time. It's a good thing we're ready for it!" Luna proudly declared.

* * *

As the other siblings had fun with their memories, Lucy and Lisa were on lookout duty, when the older sister picked up on a distant but prominent sound…

"Do you hear that?" Lucy asked her brainy sister.

"Negative. I believe you're misinterpreting the sounds around you." Lisa responded.

"No, there is definitely a noise. It sounds like footsteps." Lucy said.

Lisa then picked up her binoculars, and looked around in different directions for a moment. Then she saw an alarming sight…

"Holey Hamburgers! You're right!" Lisa shouted as she spotted an approaching group of thugs from down the street.

"What is it?" asked a curious and worried Lucy, not that she let her vocal tone display such emotions.

"It's those brutish delinquents Lincoln's friends warned us about!" Lisa answered.

"We need to warn the others!" Lucy said as the two sisters then made their way to the living room.

"ATTENTION! Initiate Sibling Protocol 13!" Lisa shouted as she and Lucy approached the rest of the siblings.

"What is it, dudes?" Luna asked.

"It's those two thugs who attacked Lincoln's friends, Hank and Hawk. They're back in the neighbourhood with their whole gang." Lucy stated.

"Alright! You all know what to do!" Luna ordered.

The Louds then prepared to defend their home from the invading group. The defences were in place, and the siblings armed themselves with whatever weapons they had. Lynn had her trusted baseball bat, Luan had a slingshot, Lucy had her bats…

…and they were all equipped with a load of Lily's dirty diapers.

* * *

Hank and Hawk made their way to the Loud House, which they made their personal target.

"You know, we have unfinished business with these runts!" Hank commented.

"Yeah, these jerks scared us away from the neighbourhood at Halloween. We've better get them back for that!" Hawk responded.

"Get a load of this stupid place, though." Hank mockingly commented.

"Yeah, it looks like a total joke of a house. I'll enjoy raiding it." Hawk said.

"Me too!" Hank replied.

The duo of bullies then turned around to face their little army of jockish thugs, trailing along behind them.

"Alright, everyone! HOUSE RAID!" Hawk shouted as he raised his fist in the air.

And with that, the gang of jocks charged at the Loud House with ill intent. The battle was ON.

Several of the invading thugs ran for the front door, but a certain prankster was ready for them. Luan landed the first strike in the battle, using her slingshot and Lily's diapers to land some offence against the opposition. As Luan was an excellent aimer, most of her shots landed perfectly, causing the jocks to fall to the ground after getting pelted with the diapers.

"Looks like you got a 'FECE'ful, hahahaha. Get it?" Luan joked to herself.

"Less joking, more fighting!" Lynn responded as she aggressively tossed a tennis ball towards one of the thugs, catching him in the eye and knocking him down.

One of the thugs then picked up a rock and threw it at one of the ground floor windows, creating an alternative entrance into the house. That same guy then took the chance and jumped inside through the smashed window.

This was a mistake.

"GET HIM!" Lola shouted as she, Lucy and Lana all popped up from behind different pieces of furniture in the room, before pouncing on the lone jock.

While he was significantly bigger and heavier than any of the Loud girls, he was still outnumbered and caught off guard, and the Loud sisters were pretty dirty fighters.

After a brief scuffle, the Loud sisters managed to tie the jock up using some rope.

"Yeah! We did it!" Lana chanted in victory.

However, their celebration was short lived, as two other jocks came in through the broken window at that moment.

"Dang it!" Lucy cried.

Back outside, there were several more of them trying to break in, but the other siblings were holding them off with their weapons. Lynn used her baseball bat to whack various balls at them, and she did so with great effect. Her ability to play rough was paying off for the family.

"Wooo! Lynnsanity in the house!" she cheered to herself after knocking some of the thugs down.

"I'm getting really sick of this!" Hank shouted in irritation.

"Just head for the front door again!" Hawk commanded.

Hank and Hawk then ran for the front door, but as they got close, suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath their feet. They plummeted down into Lisa's bunker, underneath the front yard.

"I knew that trap door would pay off. Suckers like these are always so prone to just running straight for the front entrance!" Lisa remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lola, Lana and Lucy were having trouble dealing with the two jocks who climbed into the house. It may have been 3 on 2, but the Louds needed a bigger numbers advantage than that, given the superior size and strength of the two teenage thugs. Though they put up an impressive fight for girls so small and young, they ended up being knocked to the ground.

"Ha! You girls have got some spunk! I like that!" one of the jocks remarked.

"But it still wasn't enough to handle us!" the other one taunted.

But before the two of them could finish off Lucy and the twins, another Loud sister entered the room.

"Hey!" called one girl as the two boys heard from behind.

"Think you're tough tossing around a bunch of six year olds? Why don't you come here and try that on me?!" Lynn challenged as she made a 'come here' gesture with her hand.

She had a baseball bat in her other hand, which she looked ready to use in an instant. Then, she just dropped it, making it clear she didn't need it to win the fight.

"Take her down!" one of the thugs said in response as the two rushed towards the sporty Loud girl.

Lynn jumped in the air and performed a front flip before landing perfectly on both feet, having evaded the two boys' little tackle with style and ease.

"Missed me by a mile!" Lynn taunted, enraging the two thugs.

One of the boys then approached Lynn and threw a punch, but she avoided it. He then tried to throw a hook, but Lynn rolled underneath the strike and went for a quick blow to the balls.

"AARGGHH!" the boy screamed in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

"Why you little!" said the other boy as he ran towards Lynn.

But she was ready with a nicely executed kick to the stomach, taking the wind out of him. He then threw a wild haymaker, but she blocked the punch and then struck him in the throat, temporarily dazing him. As he stumbled backwards in response, Lana crawled behind where he was stood, and waited until he stepped back some more and tripped over her and landed with a thud.

"Nice teamwork, Lans!" Lynn said as she gave Lana a high five.

Just then, the first boy, who had recovered from the crotch shot, picked up the bat Lynn had dropped and clobbered her around the back of the head with it. Lynn fell forward and was caught by Lana.

"Alright, now we're mad! We were just gonna take your stuff and leave, but now I think we'll take our time giving you a good beating!" the boy said as he cornered Lynn and Lana.

Lola and Lucy rushed to help but they were grabbed by the other boy, who got up after being tripped over.

But before the thug could hurt Lynn or Lana, he suddenly had a tap on the shoulder. He turned around to see a livid Luna Loud, who had her signature guitar in her hand.

"Hands off my sisters, dude!" she aggressively demanded before smashing her guitar over his head, knocking him out.

The other boy, who was distracted by watching his friend get hit by Luna's guitar, didn't notice Lola break free from his grasp and deliver a big bite to his arm.

"YEOUCH!" he yelled in pain as he let go of Lucy and Lola.

He then found himself getting attacked by Lucy, Lola, Lana, Lynn and Luna all at once. Overwhelmed, he quickly found himself suffering the same fate as one of his fellow jocks from earlier in the battle, getting tied up and rendered immobile.

"Thanks for the save, Lunes." Lynn said.

"Yeah, you really saved our bacon." Lana added.

"Just looking out for my precious dudettes." Luna said.

"There's still a bunch of them outside, and Luan, Lincoln and Lisa can't hold them off forever. We have to do something." Lucy stated as she observed the battle still going outside, with the thugs still advancing.

"Leave this to me!" Lola boldly said as she stormed her way out of the room.

"Ut-oh." Lana simply responded, knowing her sister all too well.

"Now they've done it. They've made Lola mad!" Luna nervously added.

* * *

Outside, the battle continued. Standing from the upstairs window, Lincoln, Luan and Lisa were still holding off the gang of thugs by using their remaining supply of Lily's dirty diapers. But these jocks were tough and resilient, they weren't easily defeated and kept getting back up and coming for more.

"We can't keep this up! We're running out of ammo!" Lincoln shouted to his sisters.

"We need more diapers!" Lisa told Luan.

"Lily may be a living poop machine, but even she can't pop 'em out that quick!" Luan replied.

Just then, there was a loud noise that diverted everyone's attention. A noise that hadn't been heard in days. The sound of a car engine.

"Okay, meanies. It's time to PLAY!" Lola screamed as she drove towards the thugs at rapid velocity.

Lola drove around the front yard, colliding with one jock after another. Enough to knock them out. After a few went down, the remaining boys decided to flee, the battle having been lost.

"Yep, that's why you shouldn't make Lola mad." Lincoln said, having observed what just happened from above.

* * *

After the battle was over, the Louds regrouped and regained themselves following their victory, with their years of childish fighting, feuds and devious pranks having finally paid off in a big way. They gradually untied the jocks that they subdued and let them leave, one by one. There was only one piece of unfinished business.

Lisa opened her bunker, and out came Hank and Hawk.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for leaving us in that stupid underground thing!" Hank roared as the two prepared to fight.

But seeing how they were outmatched, 9 against 2, they quickly backed down.

"No fair, where did all our guys go?!" Hawk asked.

"We scared them off, dudes." Luna told them.

"Yep, no one messes with the Loud House!" Lincoln followed.

"You girlies beat us?! No way! You're just a bunch of dumb sissies!" Hank whined.

"Yeah? Well, you're just a couple of meatheads!" Luan bit back.

"You're just lowlife bullies, dudes!" Luna told them.

"You stink like Lynn's butt!" Lola said.

"Aw, thanks, Lols." Lynn thanked.

"*sigh* Only YOU would take that as a compliment, Lynn." Lola said.

"Don't think you brats will enjoy this for long! We'll just come back with twice as many guys and flank ya!" Hawk threatened.

"Yeah, well, the thing about that is, to come back you've got to go away in the first place." Lincoln stated.

"And right now, we're in control of whether or not you go anywhere!" Lana continued.

"So, do yourselves a favour and be nice, and we MIGHT just let you leave!" Lola threatened.

"Alright! We're sorry!" Hawk shouted as their fear amplified.

"Now, give us one good reason not to beat you to a pulp!" Lynn demanded.

"What? We're all in the same boat! You've gotta understand. We're just doing what we need to. It's called living! In this world with no adults, it's the strong who make it!" Hank justified.

"Yeah, that's right! We used our strength to our advantage, just like your family uses the numbers game!" Hawk claimed.

"Okay, look. I'm going to give you jerks 'til the count of 3, then I'm gonna bash your heads in with this bat!" Lynn threatened.

"Ha, like we're scared of…" Hank started, but was cut off.

"1…2…"

But before Lynn could say '3', the duo were long gone, running for the hills, not wanting any more of the Loud family.

"Well, good riddance." Lucy said.

"By the way, Lola. How did you get your car to work? I mean, with no power and everything?" Lincoln questioned.

"Oh, it runs on batteries." Lola stated.

"That thing runs on batteries?!" Lincoln asked.

"Yep. It's basically just a really big and powerful toy that needs a lot of batteries to keep on going. Big enough to knock a guy down but not enough to seriously hurt them. It was enough for those morons, though." Lola explained.

"Well, good work everyone, we've done well to keep our house from those punks! But this only goes to show that we've got to keep having each other's backs. Like it or not, those guys were right. In this new world without anyone's parents to keep the kids in line, a lot of gangs will be running around trying to take everything for themselves. We have to be ready for them!" Luna reminded her siblings.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carl Casagrande found himself waking up in the middle of a field. He rubbed his eyes once he regained enough awareness to figure out where he was. He realised he wasn't dreaming as he became worried about how he got there.

"Oh no, I'm lost!" Carl shouted to himself in panic.

Carl looked around and saw other kids working on the field. Some of them were planting seeds into the dirt and watering them. Others were digging, and so on. Lots of children were working in the field with him.

"How did I get here? I wanna go home. I want my mommy!" he cried to himself as he shrivelled up into a ball.

"Quit being such a baby and get to work, or they'll punish all of us!" a little girl said to him.

"Huh?" Carl asked as he got back up to see who was talking to him.

The girl seemed familiar.

"Hey, aren't you Ronnie Anne's friend Sid's sister?" Carl asked, vaguely remembering her from the time they went to the zoo together.

"Yeah, and you're that dorky kid who thinks he's cool." Adelaide bit back.

"Hey, I AM cool!" Carl insisted.

"HEY! You two, back to work!" one boy shouted from the edge of the field.

The boy was quite professionally dressed, wearing a suit and tie, and with sunglasses as an additional touch. A couple of other teenage boys were standing beside him, similarly dressed. They looked quite imposing as a trio. Unaware of what work he was meant to be doing, Carl asked them a question.

"Work? Doing what?" Carl asked.

"Farming. You bozo's are all going to grow crops for the mafia. We need food." the boy answered.

"Look, stop asking them questions and pick something up! I'm not getting in trouble because of you!" Adelaide snappily told him.

Carl gulped as he realised, he had landed himself in it…

"Curse my stupid head, making me run off like that!" Carl told himself.

Adding to all the other unbelievable sights he saw that day, Carl then watched as he saw that same trio of smartly dressed kids get into a fancy limousine and drive away from the farm.

"Um, how are they working that thing? And who's driving it?!" Carl asked Adelaide.

"I don't know! Just get to work or we'll all be in trouble!" Adelaide demanded.

"Sheesh. What's wrong with you, anyway? Weren't you a cheerful little girl, all into playing princesses and junk?" Carl asked her.

"Yeah, well all this kinda stuff tends to beat that carefree side outta ya. Now shut up and pull your weight!" she ordered as she stopped paying attention to his words.

Carl, admitting defeat, at least for the moment, decided he had to start committing to some hard labour if he were to avoid meeting any further trouble. However, he didn't intend on having to stick around for long…

* * *

But while Carl dealt with being trapped under another's rule, other kids had the problem of being all alone and vulnerable.

Clyde, Stella, Rusty, Rocky, Liam and Zach were all roaming around in the woods. In spite of what the Mortician's told them, they were sceptical that such threats actually existed.

"Um, guys, are we really thinking smart? I mean, we just got told that a bunch of undead zombies were in the woods, and now we've just gone wandering right in." Zach said.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Zach. It's just a load of horse manure. Zombies aren't real." Liam reassured him.

"Whether they're real or not, shouldn't we have accepted their help? We do need it." Rocky finally decided to speak up.

"Bro, don't worry about it. The ol' Rust-bucket has got your back!" Rusty bragged.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of." Rocky snarked.

"Hey! You're not too big for a spanking, little bro!" Rusty warned him.

"Oh yeah? You wanna go?!" Rocky challenged.

"Calm down, you two! There may or may not be any 'undead' in these woods, but I'll bet there are some kinds of animals that would gladly rip our flesh apart for food! So just keep quiet!" Stella told them as they kept walking.

"Hey, if the two brothers go at it, I bet a quarter on the little one." Zach whispered to Liam.

"I HEARD THAT!" Rusty angrily shouted.

Stella and Clyde then angrily turned around to stare down Rusty, who had just clearly ignored Stella's instruction about keeping quiet.

"Sorry." Rusty nervously said.

At that moment when Stella and Clyde had their backs turned, a shadowy figure emerged from the trees. Rusty's slightly nervous expression quickly transformed into that of pure dread and terror as he saw what was approaching.

"Okay, jeez, Rusty! I wasn't that harsh on you. Don't take it so hard." Stella said.

Despite his fear, Rusty mustered up enough will power and strength to raise his arm and point his finger at the sinister figure approaching Stella and Clyde, who then turned around to see what was staring them in the face.

It was the body of a child around their age, but with half its face rotted and revealing bone only. It was animated, but not truly alive.

The children then all slowly backed away from the undead creature, thinking if they didn't alarm it, it might not give chase. However, it soon went from bad to worse…

…as they backed off, two more figures emerged from the background, similarly deceased and degenerated. Rotting flesh, decayed teeth, and lifeless eyes.

"RUN!" Clyde yelled as the kids began to sprint for their lives.

The kids ran faster than they thought they were capable of. They weren't all the most athletic, save for maybe Stella and Rocky, and possibly Liam. But the personified fear and terror that was pursuing them was enough to make them run far faster than they were ever able to in gym class.

Unfortunately for them, these deceased child corpses were capable of quick movement. They were fast and ferocious. And they didn't tire. They were slowly gaining ground on the terrified kids.

The children made it back to the graveyard where they met the Mortician's Guard. Hoping for the best, they ran straight for the gravestones.

Exhausted, Rusty, Clyde and Zach stopped in their tracks, right where the graves were. The others, feeling compelled by a sense of loyalty, stuck by them.

"Okay, it's not so bad. It is six on three, after all." Rusty pointed out.

"And they're undead savages who mean to kill us! I'm pretty sure I know the odds." Liam said.

Frightened and tired, the kids stood there and accepted their fate as they prepared to engage with the trio of zombies. But then…

The Mortician's Guard appeared from behind the tombstones, as they did before, and quickly laid waste to the deceased. Haiku and two other male Mortician's pulled out their daggers and quickly jabbed them into the skulls of the undead entities, going right for the brains.

And just like that, the three zombies collapsed to the ground, inanimate and truly lifeless.

"Woah, that was AWESOME!" Rusty praised.

"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Clyde shouted as he ran over and hugged Haiku.

"You may release me now." She coldly responded.

"Oh, sorry." Clyde said as he let go.

"We can't thank you enough for saving us. The least we can do is accept your offer, if it's still open." Stella said to Haiku.

Then, for the first time, at least to Clyde and the gang, Haiku cracked a brief yet meaningful smile. She was happy to have new allies in the fight against the undead.

* * *

Ronnie Anne and Sid were returning back to their friends, after having just successfully gathered some valuable resources, including food, bottled water, batteries and fresh clothes from various parts of the deserted city.

"Well, I'm glad we've got you, Ronnie Anne. You just know where everything is in this city." Sid said.

"Yeah, well, truth is I wasn't even in the city that much longer than you. I just have good gut instincts, you know." she claimed.

"Well, it looks like we'll actually have a little bit of electrical power for a while, even if it's the type that can only be used on annoying little things like alarm clocks." Sid said to her friend.

"Better than nothing. Besides, we got some more food, too. It will keep us and the others going for a while longer. This might be the last food and water we get this way. Soon, we might have to start growing our own." Ronnie Anne stated.

"Yeesh. You mean like how they used to do it in the old world?" Sid asked.

"Er, I guess so. In fact, I bet a lot of things will go back to being how they used to be years ago." Ronnie answered.

"Dang, I'm not looking forward to that." Sid said.

"I don't know where Carl has got to, and I hope I can find him soon." Ronnie sadly said.

"Yeah, same for me and Adelaide." Sid also sadly put it.

"But, speaking of Carl, could you imagine him growing food in a field? Ha." Ronnie chuckled as a way of lightening the mood.

"Oh, he would NOT like that. And Adelaide, too?" Sid joked.

The two shared a mutual laugh as they tried to stay positive, despite having a lot to be sad about. It wasn't something they could keep up, though.

"I miss Carl, the annoying little braggart he is." Ronnie said.

"Yeah, and I miss my sister." Sid said as she shed a tear.

Ronnie then put down her sack of goods and walked over to her friend.

"Don't worry, Sid. She'll be okay." Ronnie assured her as the two embraced in a hug.

"Thanks, Ronnie Anne. I'm sure Carl will be alright, too." Sid responded.

* * *

The two then made it back to their friends with the goodies. But their faces were spelling more bad news…

"Hi guys, we're back with the… what's with the faces?" Ronnie asked.

"Um… you might wanna read today's paper?" Nikki said.

She handed Ronnie the paper she had in her hand for the little tomboy to read.

It read 'Stray Kids Found and Used for Slavery'

"Oh no, you don't think?" Ronnie nervously questioned.

"It's possible." Casey said.

"Sorry, girls." Sameer said.

Ronnie and Sid then lowered their heads, deeply sorrowful that their relatives had gone missing, and that they were possibly victims of a merciless child slavery scheme, or maybe something even worse.

"Wherever she is, I just hope Adelaide is okay." Sid said.

Ronnie just thought to herself for a minute. She knew feeling sad wouldn't help matters, so she realised that there was only one thing she could do to rectify matters…

"I have to take action! Carl's counting on me to find him, and that's what I'll do!" she declared.


	5. Turning Down Good Times

Ronnie Anne was searching the streets for her lost cousin. She carried an old photo of Carl so she could show it to anyone she passed by and ask if they had seen him. Sid was with her, as she had a similar motive of looking for her sister.

"Hey, kid. Have you seen this boy?" Ronnie Anne asked as she held up the picture.

"Yeah, and also there's a girl who looks like me but smaller, and younger. You seen her?" Sid also asked.

"Um, no. Sorry girls." The boy said apologetically.

"Okay, thanks." Ronnie Anne said disappointingly.

The boy then carried on, leaving Ronnie and Sid to keep on the lookout.

"Ugh! We're never going to find them! Why does Carl have to go and run off like that!? First at the zoo, and now this!" Ronnie moaned.

"Don't worry, bestie. I'm sure we'll find both Carl and Adelaide before… hey, wait!" Sid excitedly shouted as she appeared to have a eureka moment.

"What?" Ronnie asked.

"Why don't we try the zoo? That's where Carl wandered off to the last time?" Sid suggested.

"That's right. Way to go, Sid, you're a genius!" Ronnie said as she playfully punched Sid in the arm.

"Well, I don't like to brag." Sid jokingly downplayed as she blushed.

The two girls then ran across town to where the zoo was, believing at least one of the kids they were looking for might have been there.

"Carl! Where are you?!" Ronnie Anne called as she arrived at the zoo.

"Adelaide? Are you here?" Sid called out.

"CARL! If this is some dumb game you're playing, then it's not funny!" Ronnie shouted as she quickly grew irritable.

The two girls kept walking around the zoo, calling out for their respective relatives until it became apparent their approach wasn't working.

"*sigh* It looks like neither of them are here. So much for my idea." Sid sadly stated.

"Come on, Sid. We can't give up yet! There must be some way we can find them." Ronnie encouraged.

As the two girls continued to look around, they saw the animals that were left behind. A few days had passed since 'The Big Vanish'. The animals were still in their cages. They hadn't been fed, as the zookeepers all disappeared. They were starving. Some of them barely had the energy to stand. Many were lying on the floor. The two girls couldn't help but think the worst.

"Wow, look at all these animals. It looks like all the grown-ups disappearing didn't just affect us badly. I bet they haven't had a bite to eat in days!" Sid said.

"I know. It's so sad. Should we let them out?" Ronnie asked.

"But wouldn't they go around the city eating everyone?" Sid questioned.

"Not all of them. Some of the animals are herbivores, they just eat plants. Besides, there are hardly any kids hanging around the city anymore. They all have their own hangouts and just stay indoors all the time, except to go out for food. I mean, look at us. We're only out here to look for Carl and your sister, and how many kids did we just bump into while walking around?" Ronnie said.

"Okay, I guess you're right. But how do we let them out? I mean, you're pretty strong and all, but I don't think you're breaking those cages open with your bare hands." Sid said.

"We just need to find the… KEYS!" Ronnie yelled as she just spotted the central office where the employees were based.

The door was still open, as the adults were not around to close it after they vanished. Ronnie and Sid ran in and looked around the room for the keys to the cells.

"Okay, where would a bunch of zookeepers keep their keys?" Ronnie asked herself as she looked around.

"Hey, I got them." Sid said as she pulled them straight out of her mom's work jacket.

"How did you…?" Ronnie questioned.

"My mom always told me she kept the keys safely tucked away in her work jacket." Sid explained.

The two girls then went back outside and opened the cages to let the animals roam free.

"Be careful, those things could eat us alive! Run as soon as you open the doors!" Sid warned her friend.

"I wouldn't worry, Sid. These animals are way too tired to try and chase us down. Most of them can barely stand." Ronnie said relaxingly.

And she was right. The animals, while glad to be free, were not exactly springing out of their cages with energy and enthusiasm. Days of starvation and a lack of nurturing left their health a little on the poor side. Their energy levels were depleted. Some of them were barely able to get up at all.

Ronnie and Sid reached the last cage of the zoo. It contained three tigers.

"Open sesame." Ronnie joked to herself as she opened the last door.

Two of the tigers stood up and began to walk out, but then turned around when they saw the third was too weak and tired to stand up for itself.

"Oh no, they want to go but that last one can't stand up." Sid said.

"Maybe they're brothers. They won't go without him." Ronnie theorised.

Feeling sorrowful for the creature, Ronnie had a brave, if utterly reckless idea. She walked into the cage and began to approach the fatigued feline. The other two tigers began to growl at her to back off.

"Hey, hey. Easy. I just want to help him." Ronnie Anne gestured as she raised her hands to try and ease off the other two tigers.

She slowly and cautiously walked up to the third tiger. She could see he was food-deprived and exhausted.

"Come on, big guy. Having trouble getting up? I'll help." She softly said to the beast.

Ronnie placed her hand onto his cheek, and softly stroked the tender tiger. After a moment, it responded positively to her advances. It embraced the stroking. The other two tigers backed off when they saw she was helping their kin.

"Okay, I'll help you up." Ronnie gently said as she put one arm over his back, and another under the belly. She then got the tiger to try and slowly stand up, herself going up at the same slow rate.

Sid watched as she saw her friend do something very dangerous, yet very selfless and heart-warming.

Ronnie Anne got back to her feet, and she managed to bring the tiger up with her. It was on all fours. Ronnie then hugged and stroked the beast a second time. She had earned its trust and affection. The other two tigers then quickly sensed they could trust her, too, as they came closer, but not with any hostile intent.

To solidify her bond with the trio, Ronnie Anne then stroked each of the tigers, and they were at ease as she did so. She had earned their trust and affection.

"Well, Sid, it looks like I have three new pets." Ronnie Anne said.

"You've gotta be kidding me?!" Sid replied in disbelief.

* * *

Back in the outskirts of Royal Woods, The Mortician's Guard were discussing things with their newest allies.

"As we warned you, strolling around yourselves is no safer than sticking with us." Haiku said.

"Yeah, I think we learned that the hard way." Clyde responded.

"Those creatures you saw back there, they were undeniably zombies. Do you believe us now about what we said?" Haiku asked.

"Yep. I think I was proven wrong." Liam admitted.

"I still think it has something to do with aliens!" Zach insisted.

"I don't think it was aliens, Zach." Stella argued.

"So, do you know the different ways those zombies can be beat?" Rocky asked.

"Yes. Same as any zombies you probably read or watch about in popular media. Remove the head or destroy the brain. We shoved our sharp blades right into their brains yesterday, which destroyed them instantly." Haiku explained.

"And do you have any weapons that we can use?" Rusty asked.

"In time. We don't just give you weapons. You have to earn them." Dante said.

"There's one other thing. When I was right up close to one of those things yesterday, I noticed a big chunk of metal wedged into the side of its head. What do you think that is?" Clyde wanted to know.

"We theorise it may be a remote-controlled chip inside its head. We're not sure, especially since we don't know where the energy to keep running it would come from in a world without accessible power. Some kind of mysterious force is powering these things, something perhaps other-worldly. We don't know. We have no one science-minded in our ranks." Boris stated.

"I bet Lincoln's sister Lisa would know. She's a genius." Clyde said.

"I still have to ask. How did you guys manage to build this whole lair and carve all those designs onto the graves in just a couple of days?" Rusty pondered.

"Truthfully, we were already taking an interest in the sightings of undead beings in the woods before the day the adults vanished, and were building this place so we could focus on it harder. Now we've settled in here as our permanent residence since we've no longer got anywhere else to go back to. 'The Big Vanish' did nothing more than bump this whole thing even further up the priorities list." Boris explained.

"Impressive. You've managed to get him talking. Boris is usually a man of few words." Haiku said.

"So, I guess you guys will be showing us around. Like where are our rooms, and all that?" Clyde suggested.

"Actually, there aren't any rooms." Dante said.

"We all sleep together in one room, full of coffins." Phospherus said.

"Um… coffins?" Rusty asked nervously.

"Perk up, bro. It's not so bad." Rocky said as he nudged him.

"Easy for you to say, apparently you're into all this grim stuff!" Rusty shouted.

"Well, I guess it beats being eaten alive by zombies." Stella remarked in defeat, knowing it was still the best option they had.

"I hope there are holes to breath through in those coffins." Zach quietly mentioned to Liam, as both appeared visibly concerned.

* * *

The Loud family were finally given a day of relative ease after the last few days of violence, chaos and confusion. Luna was in her room, trying to gather her thoughts…

"Come on, Lunes. You're doing a good job." She told herself as she lied on her bed.

She then sat up and looked over at the calendar. She checked the date of her birthday against the day it was. Her 16th birthday was looming. A mere month away.

"Funny. A week ago, my 16th seemed like a pretty sweet deal. Now, it can't be far enough away." she said to herself.

Just then, she heard someone loudly knocking on the door from downstairs.

At that moment, the other siblings were downstairs in the living room, trying to keep themselves entertained without the likes of TV or other technologies. Though they were able to use some battery powered devices. Some of them were playing with the pets, who became a valued source of companionship and leisure in a world where both of those resources were becoming more scarce.

When the knocking occurred, all of the sisters looked on in fear and uncertainty as they didn't know who it could be, though Lincoln didn't share their worry.

"I'll get it." Lincoln gleefully declared as he ran over to get the door, before being tackled by the twins.

"Hey, what gives?!" Lincoln angrily questioned after being attacked.

"You idiot! That could be anybody!" Lola told him.

"It could be those bullies back for revenge!" Lana pointed out.

"I don't think so! Why would they politely knock the door instead of just kick it down!?" Lincoln rationalised.

"Hmm, good point." Lana said.

"Yeah, and what if it's a trick!?" Lola argued.

The person on the outside then knocked a second time.

"Hello, is anybody home?" asked the girl on the other side of the door.

"I know that voice." Lincoln said.

"Hey, it's Luna's partner, Sam. Let her in." Lana said.

Lincoln and the twins then got up as Lincoln opened the door to greet Sam.

"Welcome to the Loud residence." Lincoln said.

"Hi, is Luna home?" Sam asked.

* * *

Sam walked up to see Luna in her room, where the two quickly got talking about the important stuff…

"So, how has your family been coping the last few days?" Sam asked.

"Aw, ya know? Surviving. We Louds are pretty crafty. Just yesterday, we held off a bunch of big football dudes from raiding the house." Luna said.

"Wow, congrats on that. You know, as unfortunate as all this has been, at least you guys are lucky enough to have each other." Sam told Luna.

"I know. But what about you? Don't you have Simon?" Luna questioned.

"He was out staying with friends the night before. He didn't answer his phone on the day my parents disappeared, and the power stopped working just after. I had no way of reaching him." Sam explained.

"Bummer, dude." Luna sympathetically responded.

"I know. The worst part is I may not even see him again. He's probably out there now. Hopefully, he and his friends found some other kids or teenagers to team up with. It's all about strength in numbers now, for the kids left behind. Not that you need reminding, you and your family are so fortunate to all have each other." Sam admirably said as a tear shed from her eye.

"What about you, Sam? Who have you been staying with these last few nights? The other band members?" Luna asked.

"No, I haven't seen them since the vanish happened. They could have gone anywhere by now. I've been staying in the house by myself, living on the food left behind. Luckily for me, my parents went shopping the day before they disappeared, so I didn't have to look for something to eat right away. Though thinking about it, lucky probably isn't the right word." Sam said.

"Do you want to stay here with us? With me?" Luna requested.

"Well, actually, I wanted to ask you something similar… but different." Sam asked back.

"Huh?" Luna responded in confusion.

"I was wondering if you would come with me. I mean, have you seen the crummy newspapers that all the kids have been making lately?" Sam said.

"Yeah, I have. Apparently, we only have until we turn 16 and then we'll fade away, too." Luna sadly stated.

"Exactly. So, why not spend the little time we have left… together, just you and me?" Sam asked as she grabbed Luna's hands.

"Sam, you know how it is." Luna said as she released Sam's hands.

"How do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I love you, Sam. You're always gonna be my favourite pick. But… I've gotta be here for them. Luan, Lynn, Lincoln… all of them. They need me here." Luna decided.

"But… Lunes, they'll have to learn to fend for themselves sooner or later. I mean, with you turning 16 soon. The thing is, our birthdays are very close, we could spend our last days together." Sam encouraged.

"I know what you're saying, Sam. And believe me, I really, REALLY want to go with you. You have no idea how much my heart is screaming for me to take your offer." Luna admitted.

"…But?" Sam asked.

"But… even though I won't be around for much longer, I feel I should be there for my family for as long as I can be." Luna regretfully yet rightfully said.

"I… I understand." Sam sadly admitted.

"If you want to stay here with us…?" Luna proposed again.

"No, I'll just be an extra mouth to feed for your family, a burden. Besides, it just wouldn't be the same this way." Sam claimed.

"I'm sorry I had to say no." Luna insisted.

"No, you're right. I was just being selfish. You just reminded me why I liked you in the first place. You have the biggest heart out of everyone I know." Sam praised.

"What about you? Hair of gold, heart of gold." Luna said back.

"What about your sisters and brother? Do they know about what will happen when you turn 16 yet?" Sam asked curiously.

"Nah, when I saw that in the paper the other night, I decided I would be the one to go out and collect all the newspapers, then rip out any articles that mention the turning 16 thing, or just tell them about what it said rather than let them read. I want to tell them about it when I'm ready. Not for them to find out somewhere else." Luna justified.

"Fair enough, but I wouldn't wait too long. Us 15-year olds haven't got long left." Sam reminded her.

"I know, don't remind me." Luna joked.

"Anyway, I guess this is goodbye." Sam upsettingly declared.

"I guess so." Luna regretfully replied.

The two then stood close to each other, and gazed into each other's eyes…

"Sam…?" Luna asked.

"Yeah?" she responded.

Then suddenly, Luna gave Sam a big, long, passionate kiss on the lips. Sam quickly returned the gesture and the two embraced in a mutual smooch of strong affection.

After a long moment of suspended romance, the two finally separated their lips, and prepared to part ways.

"So long, Sam." Luna said.

"See you round, partner." Sam said back.

And with that, Sam turned her back on her lover and made her way down the stairs. The Loud siblings watched as Sam, with a noticeably saddened and disappointed look on her face, walked towards the front door. She opened it, slowly walked out, and closed it behind her.

"It looks like that didn't go as well as we hoped." Luan remarked.

"I wonder what went wrong." Lincoln said.

Luna then walked back down the stairs, slowly and with tearful eyes.

"Why did you let her get away?!" Lola asked.

"Because some good things just aren't meant to be." Luna ambiguously stated.

"Woah… deep." Lucy remarked.

Luna then continued walking in the kitchen so she could be alone with her emotions, not wanting her siblings to see her vulnerable side. Once she was in the other room, she looked at an old photo of her and Sam on the now dysfunctional refrigerator. She looked at the image of them together, and how genuinely and passionately happy they were to be with each other.

"Silly girl." She told herself as her tears began to increase.

* * *

It was a new day for Carl Casagrande, who was heading towards what sounded like a rather heated confrontation. He had been taken to a large skyscraper in the middle of the city by the same suited boy he saw the day before, as well as two other armed, suited pre-teens.

"Okay, so where are we heading again?" Carl asked.

"Speak only when spoken to!" one of the suited boys harshly commanded.

"If you must know, we are taking you to see Don Morito, the new head of our institution, and a powerful one at that. The Mafia is a very 'influential' line of work." one of the other boys said.

That confirmed Carl's fears. The suits, the guns, the limousine… Carl was in trouble.

Carl and the boys walked through a large doorway, into a shiny, decorated hall room. Placed at the back of the room was a small set of stairs leading to a giant, golden chair. At that moment in time, there was a young male, about 11 in age, no doubt the aforementioned Don Morito, sitting on the chair, like a king sitting on his throne. He was dressed in a very formal and smart grey suit and pants. He was also wearing sunglasses.

"Who is this INFANT you've brought me?!" the sitting boy demanded to know.

"This is a little runt named Carl. We found him lost in the city alone. We gave him a job in the fields, growing your crops. He didn't do so well." one of the suited boys replied.

"Is that so?" Don questioned.

Don then got off his chair, took off and pocketed his sunglasses, and casually walked down the stairs towards Carl, who gulped in anticipation of the confrontation about to commence.

"Well, CARL! Why is it I'm hearing about you doing a poor job in the fields? Am I not motivating you enough?" Don asked him, staring him right in the face intensely.

"Um… no. Not that, definitely not that. I'm completely motivated." Carl anxiously tried to imply.

"Then why are you doing so badly? Are you just a weakling?" he mocked.

"NO!" Carl then yelled, feeling his macho pride was being damaged.

"Er… sorry. I mean, it's not that." Carl said immediately after, fearing the mafia boss took offence to his harsh outburst.

"Let me explain something to you, little man. You see, this world no longer has any adults in it, as I'm sure you've noticed." Don began to elaborate.

"Yuh-huh." Carl nodded and said in agreement, trying his best to be obedient.

"That leaves behind all the little kiddies. Those little runts will all band together in lots and lots of little groups and mini-states of their own, fighting and struggling for what was left behind. The tins of food, the leftover clothes, and so on. Now, not all of those kids left behind will be left with equal opportunities. That's just not the way of the world. Boys like me, the son and heir of an entire local mafia… we get the advantages." Don told the young boy.

He then proceeded to intimidatingly whisper aggressively into Carl's ear…

"We are the ones left behind who get all the power, all the privilege! So, you better do what I want, boy!" he warned him.

Carl then let out an audible gulp, unable to hide his fear towards the threats being made by such a powerful figure. Don then backed off and adopted a more care-free and casual tone of voice.

"And what I want is for children like you to contribute to my future. Scrounging for scraps and leftovers will only work short-term, because what's left behind is finite. I'm thinking about long-term solutions. I want you all to grow new crops for me and my boys to eat! I want you to sew new clothes, even build new houses! Now, you pull your weight, and I'll see to it that your handsomely rewarded." Don promised.

"Really?" Carl asked excitedly, seeing money in his eyes.

"Yes… I'll let you live another day." Don joked.

Don then returned to his chair and sat down once again. Carl had his arms grabbed by the two henchmen standing behind him, signalling that it was time to go and resume work.

"Before my men take you to do some more labour, one final word. Don't be a pest! You know what we do with pests around here? We exterminate them! Little nuisances. Just like those two girls I heard about earlier today, who apparently let all the zoo animals roam free in MY city… I don't like that. Don't be an annoyance like them, and you'll be alright." Don said, before giving his boys the thumbs up to dispose of Carl.

Carl was then taken away by Don's henchmen so he could resume work, not knowing what job he would be given that day. However, that interaction with the under-aged mafia leader made one thing quite clear…

Carl was in for a hard time for the foreseeable future.

* * *

Ronnie Anne and Sid returned to their friends, unsuccessful in locating Carl or Adelaide, but having gained three new pets…

"Hey, guys. We're back." Ronnie said.

"How did your search go? Any sign of Carl or Adelaide?" Nikki asked.

"I'm afraid not. We didn't find them. I'm getting really worried!" Sid stressed.

"The best thing to do is not worry or panic, that always just makes things worse." Sameer said.

"My brother's still missing, huh?" CJ asked Ronnie.

"Yep, sorry. I'll keep trying." Ronnie promised her cousin.

"On the plus side, we didn't come home empty handed." Sid stated.

"Oh yeah? What did you find then?" Nikki asked, intrigued by Sid's claim.

"Well, I thought we might run into Carl at the zoo, so we went there. One thing led to another, and… I kinda let all the animals out." Ronnie nervously admitted.

"Woah, really?" Nikki questioned, surprised.

"Hardcore!" Casey said.

"Yeah, well, there were these three tigers, and one of them couldn't stand up…" Ronnie tried to explain, but was cut off.

"But she managed to get it back to its feet!" Sid shouted.

"Pretty cool, and pretty brave of you to approach a tiger up close like that." Nikki commented.

"I think I'm going to be spending a lot more time close to tigers in the future." Ronnie tried to indicate to her friends.

"Huh?" asked the gang in unison, not exactly sure what she meant.

Ronnie Anne then whistled and into the room walked a trio of tigers, much to the shock and intimidation of the others…

"Woah!" Casey said.

"No way!" Sameer followed.

"Guys, these are my new pets." Ronnie Anne declared to her friends.

The tigers then approached Ronnie's other pets, Sergio and Lalo.

"Nope." Sergio said before flying out the window, not wanting to be near the ferocious felines.

One of the tigers then walked towards Lalo, who was shivering in fear and trying to back away. As big and strong as he may have been for a dog, he was still out of his league squaring up with a tiger.

"Easy, boy, easy!" Ronnie said to the tiger as she tried to make it back away from her dog.

"Um… I don't think they're males." Nikki claimed.

"Actually, she's right." Sid said.

"Huh, how can you tell?" Ronnie asked.

"My mom worked at a zoo, I picked up on this stuff. Female tigers have shorter tails and smaller paws relative to their size. These tigers have short tails and not particularly huge paws." Sid explained.

"Oh, right. I guess I should get used to calling them girls then." Ronnie responded.

"Do they even have names?" Casey pointed out.

"I don't know, I didn't look for any names on the cage they were in." Ronnie said.

"Well, what names do you want to give them?" Sid proposed.

"Hmm… I think I'll call them Maria, Frida and Carlota." She decided.

"Named after the girls in your family that you… you know?" Sameer went to say, but then stopped himself when he realised it was a somewhat touchy subject.

"Yeah, that's right." Ronnie confirmed as she remembered the family members she had lost as a result of 'The Big Vanish' a few days earlier.

But despite those she lost, she had to keep moving forward, and the same went for everyone else. Her friends and the other city kids, the Louds, Lincoln's friends, Sam, and pretty much everyone else. Many kids in Royal Woods were still free-roaming and without alliances, and that had to change if they were going to survive. As time continued to pass in a world without adults, it was clear things were going to change even more dramatically.

And all the remaining knew they had to be ready for it.


	6. Life Goes On

"One month has passed since 'The Big Vanish'. That's a long time for children. Things have changed so quickly. The world has transformed around us, in many identifiable ways. Factions and micro-states of kids and families fight for control of areas, and the allocation of resources, and hostility continues to rise as a result."

"The resources left behind by an adult-governed world are now depleting, meaning those who had not already caught on must do so to the fact that we need to work towards the future. That entails growing our own food, producing our own clothing, committing to repair work on our buildings. That is what we must do now if we are to survive any further. Medical supplies have also been depleted, meaning anyone who was dependant on them to survive will now cease to be. Fortunately for us, nobody in this family unit requires such stimulants or suppressants."

"We still don't know what caused all the adults to disappear, and we may all want to know. We all desire to strive towards a method of reversing its effects. However, since there is no clear indication as to what the cause was, there is little we can do to reform the status quo at this time. All I know is that we need to continue to aid one another, and follow the wisdom of our designated leader, Luna." This speech is revealed to be Lisa, giving a lecture to her siblings in one of their arranged sibling meetings. All of the siblings except their aforementioned leader were present.

"I would like to further elaborate by stating…" Lisa tried to continue, but was cut off.

"Yeah, yeah! We've heard it all before!" Lynn criticised.

"Speaking of Luna, I guess I should say something. Does anyone think she's been acting a bit weird lately?" Lincoln asked.

"Not really, why?" Lana responded.

"It's just that she's not been herself lately. She's been really down and untalkative." Lincoln commented.

"Well, duh. All the added stress of looking after us, as well as trying to deal with all that's been happening lately is bound to affect her!" Luan said.

"It's true. I mean, look at you, Luan. You haven't even come up with that many puns lately." Lola pointed out.

"Yeah, well, it's not easy to find the inspiration for laughter these days." Luan sadly reflected.

"I still think Lincoln has a point. Stressful or not, Luna just seems… off. I can sense it." Lucy said.

"What? You think a demon has possessed her or something?" Lynn joked.

"If only… I don't think Luna's problem is anything so… wicked." Lucy concluded.

"I'm just hoping she's okay. That all the added stress of dealing with us isn't getting the better of her." Lincoln worryingly stated.

* * *

Fittingly, as the siblings discussed a depletion of medical supplies and a certain someone's mental state, Luna was downstairs, and she had a pack of pills in hand. Looking at the packet, most of the pills originally contained had already been consumed.

"It's a good thing these pills I found when we searched in Aunt Ruth's place a few weeks ago have lasted this long." Luna said to herself as she prepared herself a glass of water.

She then took the pills and swallowed them with the water.

"Just what I need to handle the stress." Luna told herself as she then sat down on the sofa.

Luna then put the almost empty packet into her boot as she heard one of her siblings walking down the stairs. She immediately dropped the downer act and adopted a perkier persona.

"Hey, Lunes. Just checking if you're feeling okay?" Lincoln said.

"Oh, hey brah. I'm fine. Just chillin'." She responded, seemingly happy as can be.

"Oh, okay, cool. We were just talking upstairs, about the past month and everything… I was just wondering if there was anything bugging you. I mean, anything besides the obvious stuff." Lincoln stated.

"What makes you say that?" Luna questioned.

"I've noticed that since Sam came over to see you that one time, you've been a little down in the dumps on occasion." Lincoln pointed out.

"It's nothing. You know, just the added stress of responsibility. That's all. Don't worry, little dude. Your big sis has got it covered." Luna insisted to her brother as she got up and began to walk out of the room.

"Okay, but you know if you're struggling with anything, we're all here for you. Right?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah, sure bro." Luna replied as she walked off.

Lincoln wasn't entirely convinced by Luna's outward happiness and stability, but that was the least of Luna's worries, as she once again dashed her eyes towards the calendar. Her birthday was only days away, and she was dreading it. She STILL hadn't told her family.

* * *

A month was enough time for Lincoln's friends to get adjusted to life without any parental figures. They had a new authority to follow, The Mortician's Guard. Of course, some had adjusted to the customs and practices of the group more than others.

"You know? I still hate the whole parents disappearing thing happening in the first place, but if it had to happen, here wasn't a bad place to end up, all in all." Rocky said to his brother mid-conversation.

"Of course you'd find it easy hanging around with all these spooks!" Rusty told his brother, knowing he had a hidden interest in the macabre all along.

"They're pretty cool. If you actually gave all this stuff they do a chance, you'd find yourself enjoying your time here a lot more." Rocky insisted, covered in fake blood.

"Nah, I'm much more of a ladies man jock type!" Rusty insisted, flexing his non-existent muscles.

His friends then shared a mutual chuckle to themselves, which he overheard.

"What?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.

"No offence, Rusty, but you've never been quite as much of a tough guy Casanova as you seem to think." Stella tried to let him down gently.

"Pfft. Says you! Ladies always loved me!" Rusty insisted.

"Really? How many girls did you ever manage to win over?" Clyde asked.

"Well, there was… Polly Pain. And…" he tried to say, but couldn't recall that many girls he actually won over.

"That's it? What about Girl Jordan? Or Mollie? Or Christina?" Liam asked.

"Eh, not my type." Rusty tried to brush off.

"Not imaginary enough?" Rocky joked, causing his brother to pout.

At that moment, Morpheus walked into the room to deliver a message to the most recent editions of the guard.

"You have been with us for a month now. You're still wearing your old clothes, which may I inform you, are looking rather ragged and ripped." the gothic young boy told them.

"Yeah, are you saying you got us some new uniforms?" Zach asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Morpheus responded.

He then handed each of the kids a load of black and grey fabric and a pair of knitting needles.

"Get to work on your new wardrobes. It's about time you each looked like a Mortician." Morpheus instructed.

"What? You didn't have ready-made outfits for us?!" Rusty questioned.

"This is a world where resources are scarce. You're lucky we found anything for you at all." the goth said before leaving the room.

"Well, I guess that keeps us busy for the rest of the day." Stella remarked as they all got their needles ready and prepared to make their own clothes.

* * *

Back in Royal Woods, on the other side of town from Franklin Avenue, there was another faction of boys and girls, one of the many micro-states as mentioned by Lisa, dominant in that local area. Seemingly containing around 200 children, it was led by none other than popular school boy Chandler McCann. This particular group included many of the students from Royal Woods Elementary, Middle and High Schools, including Girl Jordan, Mollie, Margo, Polly Pain, Paula, Giggles, Tabby, Benny, Byron and Cici. In front of all of them and many more young children, Chandler prepared to speak.

"Alright, guys. It's been a few weeks, but we've sorted our food sharing problem. Now it's time to discuss the leadership of this group that's going to be in place for the foreseeable future." Chandler said to his allies.

"Honestly, I think we should take advantage of our small numbers and just have a whole direct democracy kind of thing put in place." one boy argued.

"Well, you have a good point. What I was thinking was that we put a committee in place. Like a roundtable of leaders. Me and a few others, and you will all get a vote as to who gets to sit in it." Chandler told his followers.

This information caused immediate chatter amongst the group. Chandler reacted quickly so as to regain the attention to his words.

"Everyone will be allowed to vote for anyone they choose, except themselves of course! The person with the most votes will be the President of the committee, and the 4 runners up will be their companions on the table. All five individuals will have decision making powers that affect what we do from here on out." Chandler said.

"Hey, vote for me! I'd be a great leader!" one girl shouted.

"No, she's a total lame-o! I should be sitting on the table in charge!" another boy yelled.

"Enough! There will be plenty of chances for those of you interested in a seat to convince your peers to elect you. The elections will take place in four days from now. In the meantime, you are all free to talk amongst yourselves and convince those around you that you are the right person to vote for. I myself intend on giving a couple more speeches about my own ideas and reforms. That is all." Chandler finished, walking away to let his allies and followers discuss matters amongst themselves.

As Chandler walked off, he was followed by his friend, Trent.

"Heh, goes to show how far we've come, huh?" Trent asked in an effort to create small talk.

"How do you mean?" Chandler replied.

"Well, just a couple of months ago, you were the popular freeloader boy at school who acted like a bit of a jerk sometimes." his friend said.

"Hey!" Chandler responded.

"Now look at you, running a new little society and making decisions about democracy and leadership." Trent said in reflection of recent developments.

"We're living in a new world, and that means a lot of people have changed. Me included, I had to." Chandler said.

"Yeah, I know. I bet you're not the only one, either. Lots of young boys and girls have had to grow up fast and become more responsible." Trent stated.

"It's true. I guess it does make us better people in the end." Chandler positively reflected on the situation.

"Yeah, I know. You're a great example of that. Still, doesn't it seem like you've been cheated out of your childhood?" Trent questioned curiously.

"Eh, I could sit around feeling sorry for myself, or I could make the most of it, you know what I mean?" Chandler said in response.

"I couldn't agree more!" proudly stated a third person.

Chandler and Trent then turned around to face another young boy, about the same age and height as them. Dark haired, wearing a fancy black trench coat, and with a bit of a slimy appearance, something about the young boy gave them the feeling he wasn't to be trusted. However, his demeanour created a polarising effect…

"Hello there, I don't believe we've really talked to each other, yet. I'm Chester Bundy." the boy politely greeted as he stuck out his hand, offering a friendly handshake.

"Um… hi there. I'm Chandler, but if you're hanging around here, you probably already know that." Chandler said as he accepted the handshake.

"I just want to say, I think you'd make a great leader for all of us. You have my vote." Chester said.

"Thanks." Chandler replied with a tone of implied scepticism in his voice.

"Anyway, I hope to see you in the President's seat come the end of the week." Chester said before leaving.

"What was that about?" Chandler asked.

"He's just another power grabber playing mind games. I wouldn't trust him." Trent advised.

"Yeah, something seemed a bit iffy about that guy." Chandler said.

* * *

But as certain 'micro-states' tried to form new politics and ways of making decisions and distributing power, other areas had their authority set out for them, like Great Lakes City.

The young mafia warlord Don Morito was driven in his fancy limousine by his henchmen into a clothing warehouse nearby his headquarters. There, he was able to take the pleasure of watching so many other children do his bidding.

"Ah, I do like the sight of other kids doing my work for me. It's strangely exhilarating." Don said to himself as he walked in.

He looked around and saw many of the kids ploughing away at their set tasks. Knitting, sewing and stitching, and even folding and storing… all done to a production line.

"Hmm, that boy over there. I remember him from somewhere." Don said as he pondered to himself.

"That's the little boy we brought to your HQ about a month ago. Carl or something." His henchman told him.

"Ah, that's right. The little runt who couldn't hack the work in the fields." Don recalled.

Wanting a quick conversation, Don then simply raised his hand, causing all his bodyguards to shoot a few bullets in the air, making all the workforce stop immediately.

"Alright, boys and girls. You've all worked pretty hard, so I'm gonna give you a break!" Don announced.

"YAAAY!" the workers cheered loudly.

"For about five minutes." He then followed.

"AWWW!" the workers shouted in disappointment.

"Hey, be thankful I'm even giving you a break at all!" Don sternly told them.

All the kids then left the room for a 5 minute breather, except one…

"Carl! Remember me? I'm the one all this work is for." the arrogant mafia boss shouted.

"Oh, yeah. Don something, right?" Carl asked.

"Don Morito. You'll do well not to forget that again!" he told him.

"Sorry." Carl passively apologised.

"Let me give you a piece of advice. Something to live your life by in this new world of power struggles and cruel actions. Make sure people respect you. Make sure they know you are a being to be feared. When they do, they won't want to mess with you, or use you. They will do everything you want! Do you know why all these little cattle work for me without any real pay?" Don asked.

"Um… because you have lots of guys with guns by your side? Also, you were fortunate to be left with a car and a lot of fuel for it, which kinda makes you special now…?" Carl guessed.

"Well, you're on the right track there. The thing is, they all work for me because I have power. I have respect. With both of those qualities, comes a sense of fear that compels people to do what I ask of them. That's something I was fortunate enough to learn from my old man before he and his mafia buddies passed on, leaving me to take up the mantle." Don explained.

"So, if I'm to make anything of myself in this world, I have to be…?" Carl began to ask, but was interrupted.

"Cold, heartless, ruthless, and tactical all the same. Never let others get away with challenging your authority. You will live to regret it. I hear about all these little factions outside the city, where they try to make decisions collectively and democratically. Democracy isn't really a regime that works." Don said.

"Really? I thought everyone liked being able to vote and stuff." Carl replied.

"You're only six, so I guess I'll excuse the ignorance. Do you know where democracy came from? Ancient Greece. And perhaps the first major thinker to come from Ancient Greece was Socrates, the so-called father of philosophy. But he didn't actually agree with the democratic ideals his society upheld so passionately. He instead believed that only those worthy, the 'philosopher kings', if you will, should make decisions. That's me. I'm the KING!" he told the younger child.

"Right." Carl responded.

"I heard about a little group of snot-nosed brats trying to run a little democratic society in a part of Royal Woods earlier today. That is doomed to fail." Don remarked.

Carl struggled to process exactly what his boss was telling him. Seeing that, Don decided that was enough chat time.

"Okay, that will do. Just wanted to check up on you when I saw you here. Looks like you still have a lot to learn about the way the world works, Carl. I'll leave you to figure it out in your own time. See you around." Don said as he began to walk off.

As Don left the room, the workforce began piling back in and the production line resumed. Carl still had those ideas planted in his head, and he continued to think about his own status in the world. For years, he wanted to be a well-respected, tough macho man, but never quite met the requirements. He grew a determined look on his face as his desires transformed into a passionate mission.

He was going to make everyone know that he was Carl Casagrande, a true 'man' who commanded respect.

* * *

But Don didn't control everyone in the city, Ronnie Anne and her friends were still hanging about inside the little hideout they found for themselves and made their new home. It had been a whole month since Ronnie Anne adopted her trio of pet tigers, and by this point, they had become a part of the gang.

"I never thought I'd say it, but I've gotten used to seeing those things in here." Sameer said.

"Ah, they're cool. They love me, they don't hurt anyone unless someone really asks for it, and I think Sid really likes Carlota." Ronnie Anne said.

As Ronnie said that, Sid was with the tiger Ronnie named Carlota, stroking it and giving it some affection…

"Who's a good girl? It's you. You're a good little girly…" Sid said cheerfully as she stroked the large feline, while it lied on its back, embracing the fuss.

"And I think Frida and CJ get on like a house on fire." Ronnie also stated as she and Sameer turned their attention to the events happening on the other side of the room.

"Down, kitty. Good kitty." CJ said nervously as the tiger had him backed against the wall and was growling ferociously.

"Oh no!" Ronnie shouted as she saw what was happening with her cousin.

She then grabbed the tiger and tried to get it to move away from her scared cousin…

"No, Frida! We don't hurt people, unless they're bad guys! Got it?" she tried to explain to her pet, hoping it would somehow pick up on what she was saying.

CJ then let out a sigh of relief as he narrowly avoided a nasty altercation. However, that only accounted for the whereabouts of Frida and Carlota.

"Weren't there three tigers, anyway? Where's the other one?" Nikki asked.

"Oh, Maria? She likes her space. Sometimes, she goes outside and takes a walk." Ronnie explained.

"Wait, you've just been letting your pet tiger go off on its own and walk around the city?" Casey questioned.

"Well, yeah. She does it all the time. But she always come back, you know, like a house cat." Ronnie insisted.

"I think there's a world of difference between a common house cat and a tiger." Nikki said.

"Yeah, she's probably right. You should go and get Maria before she runs into trouble." Sid said as she continued to stroke Carlota.

CJ, Carlitos, Sid and the others, even Lalo, all looked at Ronnie Anne and gave her a concerned and sceptical expression, signalling that she ought to go and search for her stray pet.

"Ugh, fine! I didn't realise all my friends were my mom now!" Ronnie grumbled.

"I'll come with you to give you a little help finding her." Sid offered.

* * *

Soon enough, Ronnie was out on the streets, alongside her two pet tigers and bestie Sid, searching for the third.

"I don't know why we're bothering with this! Maria will come back, she does this all the time!" Ronnie moaned.

"Well, better safe than sorry." Sid said.

"It's not like all this worked when we were looking for Carl last month! I mean, we never found him! He could be anywhere by now!" Ronnie pointed out.

Sid then lowered her head and developed a hurt expression on her face. Ronnie Anne then realised her poor choice of words…

"Oh, and Adelaide. Right… I… I didn't know what I was saying. I'm sorry." She apologised to Sid.

"Nah, it's okay." Sid replied.

"I just don't think this is needed. I know my tigers. I mean, I know I've only known them for a month, but I feel like we've bonded really closely. I know Maria will come back. Honestly, what's the worst that could happen?" Ronnie Anne asked jokingly as she shrugged off the idea of a vicious predator being in danger from any children.

But her over-confidence for her pet's safety was misplaced…

"THAT!" Sid shouted as she saw and pointed at a very alarming sight.

There she was, Maria the tiger, facing off against three pre-teen boys. Except these boys were armed with deadly machine guns.

"MARIA!" Ronnie Anne yelled as she began to run frantically towards her pet, with her other two tigers accompanying her as they saw their sister being threatened.

The three boys were wearing black suits and ties, and were preparing to shoot the beast down if it tried to attack.

"Another one? I thought all those animals who escaped the zoo last month either went away from the city or we shot 'em down already?" one of the boys asked.

"I don't know! Who cares, just shoot him!" another of them responded.

"First, it's a SHE, not a he! Second, her name is Maria! Third, put your guns away from her!" Ronnie Anne demanded as she approached the trio of boys.

"Look, lady, we're under orders from our boss, Don Morito, He's the alpha in these parts." one of them told her.

"Hmpf. Says who?!" Ronnie Anne questioned aggressively.

"Says the guy with a gun in his hand!" the boy snapped back as he pointed the gun at Ronnie Anne and Sid.

"Um, okay, that's a pretty good point, actually." Sid said nervously as she backed away.

Ronnie Anne also walked backwards, but she didn't want to retreat. She still had a pet tiger to protect.

"Look, just let her go, and we'll leave you alone." Ronnie proposed to the mafia cronies.

"Ha, why should be negotiate with you?! We're the ones with all the cards, here!" the boy pointed out.

But as the boys diverted their attention towards Ronnie and Sid, the other two tigers took the opportunity to utilise their wild, fast instincts to quickly pounce on the three boys while they were distracted.

"Woah! Down girls!" Ronnie shouted as she feared her companions would kill the three kids.

Carlota had two of the boys pinned down beneath her as she growled at them fiercely. They were both in great fear for their lives as the beast stared them down and prepared to deliver the fatal strike. Frida also had the third boy pinned underneath her grasp as she was ready to eat him alive.

"OKAY! OKAY! WE GIVE! Just call off your pets! We were only following orders!" one of the boys blurted out in a panic.

Feeling merciful, Ronnie Anne gave the order…

"Maria! Carlota! Frida! Let the runts go!" she commanded to her pets.

Without hesitation or conflict, the three tigers instantly obeyed the word of their guardian, their master.

The three boys, not even daring or foolish enough to try and retrieve their weapons and attempt to execute the tigers again, quickly ran for it.

"Don Morito will hear about this! You girls are history!" one of the boys shouted from down the road as the trio fled the scene.

Ronnie Anne and Sid then high-fived each other in victory. Not only had they found Maria, but they had also established themselves as players in the local power struggle in Great Lakes City.

* * *

Back at the Loud House, Luna was disposing of the trash. She made sure all the newspapers she had collected, and conveniently kept from the sight of her siblings, were put in the trash bag, and that she took it out herself. Except she forgot about one paper, one that was under hers and Luan's bed. One dated a few days ago, but contained a particularly interesting and revealing article about how there were continuing stories about teenagers vanishing when they turned 16, and it was increasingly unlikely that said topic, brought about by word of mouth, was merely just a rumour.

After taking out the trash, Luna returned to her room and climbed onto her bed.

After a moment of thinking to herself, her comedic sister entered the room…

"Hi there, tuts. Why so down in the dumps?" asked a familiar hand puppet named Mr Coconuts, as Luan had poked her hand through the doorway first so she could have a joke through the use of her toy.

"Oh, hey." Luna simply responded in a seemingly care-free and indifferent way.

Sensing her sister was not in the mood for jokes, Luan dropped the act and went to speak with her as herself.

"Sorry, sis." Luan apologised.

"It's cool. I know you were just trying to cheer me up. Speaking of that, I noticed that was the first time in a while you actually made a joke." Luna said.

"Lunes, can I say something?" Luan asked her.

"Go ahead, sis." Luna replied.

"Are you feeling okay? I know all this must be really hard for you…" Luan started.

"You don't know the half of it." Luna said.

"I think I can take a guess." Luan responded.

"It's nothing. Really." Luna reassured her.

"Are you sure?" Luan asked, unconvinced.

"Look, believe what you want. I've got more important things to worry about." Luna said as she got up and began to walk out the room, sounding slightly irritated.

"For as long as I can, anyway." the former rocker girl quietly said to herself once Luan was out of earshot.

But her secret wasn't going to remain a secret much longer. Luan, still inside the room, sat on her bed, when she noticed something amiss…

"Oh, fiddlesticks! Where's my bag of balloons? I had this great idea for some ammo for protecting the house." Luan said to herself as she began to wave her head around, looking all over the room.

She then got up and checked a couple of drawers, but she had no such luck.

"Hmm, where could they be?" Luan asked herself.

She then thought of peaking under the bed to see if they were hidden underneath…

…what she would actually find was something far more disturbing and shocking than she could have imagined.

"Huh? It's one of those crudely drawn newspapers that's been made lately. Luna's seems to have been keeping us from getting a good read of them." Luan said to herself.

She then began to read the article on the front page about the exact story Luna didn't want her reading about…

…after a minute of reading and absorbing the highly alarming information, Luan's only logical reaction was…

"MY GOD! LUNA!?"


	7. Truth and Bonds

Luna was in the bathroom. It was early morning, just after the sun had risen and brought natural light into the house. She had just finished brushing her teeth, and spat into the sink. After she was done, she looked back up into the mirror above, and saw her comedic sister's not-so-joyful, intense glare in its reflection.

"WOAH, DUDE!" she yelled as she jumped in surprise at suddenly seeing Luan appear like that.

"How do you explain THIS?!" Luan angrily and ambiguously demanded, with the discovered newspaper in her hand.

"How do I explain what?" Luna asked.

"THIS!" Luan put it clearly as she held up the newspaper that she found under the bed right in Luna's face.

"Oh, that." Luna could only ashamedly admit, knowing her sister wasn't going to fall for any lies.

" _Oh, that?_ Is that all you've got? What did you think you were doing?! Keeping this a secret from your family?!" Luan demanded to know.

"Look, I didn't want you guys worrying until it was necessary. It's been hard enough on all you guys recently without all this stuff about me vanishing at 16." Luna tried to justify.

"Pfft. Don't give me that!" Luan refused to accept.

"Alright, dude! It's been hard on me, too! I've had enough to deal with, taking care of all of you, throwing away all my dreams and my girlfriend! Not to mention, knowing I was going to die at 16! So, yeah, maybe I didn't want to have to deal with the grief of telling you guys about that, too!" Luna argued.

Both girls paused the conversation for a brief moment as things became tense, yet oddly sympathetic at the same time. Luan was still angry that her sister kept something like that from her and the rest of the family. However, she did see Luna's point. She could understand Luna's predicament, though she still felt something needed to be done.

"Okay. I get it, you're right. You've done a lot for us, and we haven't even said thanks! If it wasn't for you, I don't think we would have made it through this first month! For that, I am forever grateful, and I'm sure the same goes for the others. But Luna, you are going to di… um, vanish, in two days time, on your birthday. Since you haven't told them already, you have to let them know now!" Luan said.

"Look, I'll do it tomorrow. One day before." Luna promised.

"Come on! It's already short notice as it is! Don't make it any harder on them!" Luan told her.

Luna tried to argue, but she knew Luan was correct. As hard as it would be, she had to step up and courageously inform her siblings about her impending doom…

"You're right. All this time, it seemed like I was being so selfless and responsible. Well, maybe not…" Luna reflectively self-criticised.

"No one said that. I don't think your selfish or irresponsible. I just think you've had to put up with a lot and it's made you do a few silly things. You're not a bad sister or leader, but you're also not perfect." Luan stated.

"I'm guessin' there was supposed to be some kind of compliment in there, brah?" Luna joked.

"Hey, leave the jokes to me." Luan replied in amusement.

The two girls then shared a mutual chuckle as they began to reach an understanding.

"Okay. I'll tell them, I need to put this right! Organise a sibling meeting, tell the others I have something important to say!" Luna commanded.

Luan gave her a simple nod and then walked off to do just that.

But before Luan left, Luna decided she needed one last bit of comfort from her closest sister…

"Sis?"

"Yeah?" Luan asked.

"I'm… scared." Luna admitted.

Luan then ran back towards her sister and hugged her comfortingly.

"Of course you are, who wouldn't be? Look, I can't imagine what you're going through right now! That's why I'll be here for you. I'm sorry that I was angry with you before, but I had to get you to agree to tell the others about this. But I'll support you every step of the way. If there's any way I can help you through the next couple of days, just let me know." Luan reassuringly told her vulnerable older sister before ending the hug.

"Well… can you stop me from turning 16?" Luna asked.

"I'm afraid there's not a party trick in the world that can make that happen." Luan responded as the two shared another giggle.

"I guess it's true what they say. A little humour can help at times of great pain." Luan pointed out.

"Luan… thanks." Luna said as a tear developed in her eye.

"That's what sisters are for." Luan reminded her.

"Your help will make this a lot easier." Luna said.

"Believe me, I wish I hadn't found this out, and not because you were keeping a secret from me. I don't want you to go. You're not only my sister. You're my closest friend. I can't possibly express how much I'm going to miss you." Luan admitted, struggling to keep her emotions bottled as she did so.

"I guess that was part of the reason you acted all mad, you were venting out your own frustrations after finding out, huh?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, I just wish you could stay. Heck, I wish this whole thing had never even happened in the first place." the comedic sister sadly put it.

"I know, dude. We all wish that." Luna said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chandler was engaging with the democratic event that he had organised himself, where he would have the chance to become the recognised and accepted leader of his new 'society' of people. He stood in the middle of the street, on an old box he found, that he used as a stand so he could easily gather the attention of his peers. He took the opportunity to progress his campaign by outlining his plans for development and reform to his social group, and see if it's what they all wanted.

"We kids may not have the life experience and years of knowledge that our parents had, but we have the ability to learn it, and in doing so, restore our society to something resembling the world of two months ago. We're already using the houses left behind as shelter and a few other things we know how to use. Think of all the resources we have left behind to work with? Pipes and pipelines, metals and tools, crop seeds… My father was a sewage plant worker. Don't you think it's time that one of us took on the job he once had? If you ask me, it's starting to stink around here." Chandler said.

"Yeah, he's right. The smell is starting to gross me out!" Jordan shouted from the crowd of onlookers.

"We have so many things to work with, just very little idea of how to use them. I believe it is worthwhile to invest some time into finding the information we need to learn how to make things run again! Electrical systems, sewage works, house repairs, cars and trucks. We have the ability to learn these things and more. We just need to learn." Chandler continued.

"But how do you propose we do that? There's no internet to use anymore!" Mollie questioned, which immediately caused some sceptical chatter from the rest of the crowd.

"I know, I know. The internet is down, but there's another source of knowledge that we can find and use." Chandler mentioned.

The crowd let out a collective *GROAN* once they caught on to what he meant.

"Yes, I know. BOOKS! We've never liked reading them, but this is a new world. I want to see all of you not only survive, but thrive, and we are going to start falling behind if we don't learn how to adapt and do things for ourselves."

"We just need to learn, right?" asked Benny from within the crowd.

"That's right!" Chandler responded.

"He's right, guys! We just need to get a grip and figure out what we're doing!" Margo added.

The crowd began to cheer for Chandler as he managed to win them over with his suggestions to make society better again.

"WE JUST NEED TO LEARN! WE JUST NEED TO LEARN!" the crowd roared.

"Ah, looks like I've got a new campaign slogan." Chandler joked to himself as the crowd roared in his favour.

"WHAT A LOAD!" shouted one kid from the other end of the crowd.

Chandler and the rest of the children then turned to see who it was that said that.

"And who are you supposed to be?!" Chandler loudly asked from afar.

What they saw was another boy about the same age as Chandler. He wore an orange shirt paired with blue jeans and a pair of sneakers. He had blonde hair and a white beanie. He also had buck teeth.

"The name is Mike. I'm running for 'president' of this little club, too." the boy declared.

"Hey, you look a lot like that Lincoln Loud kid from school!" Chandler commented.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not a dork who drabbles on about books and junk!" Mike said in slander.

"Well, what plans do you have?" asked Margo from the crowd standing between the two candidates.

"That's easy! First, free cake for everyone!" Mike promised.

That got a lot of the kids excited. Despite the harsh conditions of the new world enforcing a sense of maturity, the fact remained that they were still just little children who were still easy swayed by the small and simple stuff.

"Second, we're certainly not wasting our time with books like McNerd over there wants. In fact, I'm going to make reading books illegal!" he continued.

"YEAH!" shouted most of the kids in unison.

"What? You're being completely ridic…" Chandler tried to counter, but was rudely cut off.

"NEXT! I'm going to declare one day a week officially the 'Goof Off Day' where you just get to do whatever you want and there's no commitments!" Mike declared.

"YAAAY!" the kids cheered on.

"Um, dude. That day already exists. It's called Sunday!" Chandler snarked.

"Finally, if you vote for me to be in charge in three days time… I will personally make sure that we become the COOLEST kids in the whole world!" Mike finished.

"MIKE! MIKE! MIKE!" the kids chanted as they picked Mike up and raised him in the air in praise.

Chandler looked on, completely baffled and in deep shock as the majority of the young childish audience completely ate up the absurd claims and promises of his rival.

"What? How can they fall for that garbage?!" Chandler asked in utter disbelief of what just happened.

"You've gotta know your audience, man." said a familiar voice.

"You?" Chandler blurted out as he turned his head to see Chester approaching him.

"You may be trying to grow up in order to be a good leader, but the thing is, they don't all want to do the same. They're just kids." Chester explained.

"I know, but if we don't learn to step up, then we're all gonna be toast!" Chandler argued.

"Maybe. But the fact is, it's still too soon to expect all of them to do the same. It's only been a few weeks. More time is needed for them to fully mature. In the meantime, you need to learn what appeals to their fickle little minds. Buzz slogans like 'We just need to learn' are a good start, but nothing sounds better to the mind of a child like 'Free Cake' or 'Goof Off Day'. You need to remember that. This isn't like a professional election between grown-ups." Chester explained.

"Well, I guess not. But still, what he's saying is nonsense. Completely meaningless. How do I 'appeal' to an audience that thinks stuff like that is good, especially when I'm trying to take this whole reforming society thing seriously?" Chandler asked.

"Slander and discredit the competition." Chester replied.

"You mean play dirty?" Chandler questioned.

"Hey, it's a dog eats dog world. Like it or not." Chester told him.

Chandler pondered to himself, wondering if it was the right thing to do.

"Just let me help you. I can make sure this little election sees the right outcome." Chester proposed as he grew a somewhat sinister looking grin on his face.

* * *

Ronnie Anne had a suspicion concerning the events of the previous day, and she wasn't going to rest until she did something about it…

"You know what I think about those lame-o's in suits yesterday?" Ronnie asked the others.

"What?" Sid replied.

"What if they're the ones behind Carl going missing? Maybe they've got him! I mean, they seem to be taking over the whole city. This Don Morito guy thinks he's some hot-shot just because he's got some boys with guns! I think we ought to go and teach him a lesson!" Ronnie declared to her friends.

"But like you said, those guys have guns, don't they?!" asked a concerned and worried CJ, who was holding Carlitos in his hands.

"Well, we can't just let them get away with this! They have your brother, CJ!" Ronnie firmly stated.

CJ looked down in worry as he wasn't sure if she was right, but was nonetheless considering that she could be and his brother was in peril.

"And Sid, they could have your sister with them, too!" Ronnie then told her bestie.

"Oh, I hope not." Sid fearfully said in response.

"Look, we don't know that they're behind any of this. They might have nothing at all to do with Adelaide and Carl going missing." Nikki tried to reason.

"Yeah. Adelaide wasn't even with you when everyone vanished. She could have wandered off anywhere before the kiddie mafia even came out of the dark or wherever it came from." Casey suggested.

"And my brother always went off and did his own thing. He could just have gotten lost." CJ said.

"I know. Them going missing and these boys in suits may be completely unrelated, but either way, I think we have to do something." Ronnie insisted.

"How? To repeat the point earlier, they have guns! Also, I bet there's way more of them than there are of us!" Nikki argued.

Ronnie Anne knew they were right. It was always going to be a long shot. A little bunch of kids like them, going up against an entire mafia without any real ammo or numbers to back them up.

But that's when she realised what she had to do…

"You're right. We're outnumbered, outgunned, and outmatched. It looks like if anyone is going to do the right thing by the people they care about anymore, they're going to have to be tough, but also have people on their side." Ronnie said.

"Huh?" Sid asked, not sure what her friend was trying to say.

"We need to raise an army. Like a special force of our own that can help us fight against big gangs of jerks like those suited morons!" Ronnie concluded.

"Um… I don't mean to sound rude, but that sounds completely idiotic." Sameer said.

"I know you want to get your cousin back, and stop jerks like those mafia kids from pushing people like us around, but don't you think you're sounding like a bit of a…" Nikki said before being cut off.

"Megalomaniac?" CJ finished for Nikki.

"What? No! I'm just saying we can't let people get away with treating us like junk, that's all!" Ronnie said.

"Calm down, Ronnie Anne. Why are you getting so worked up about this, anyway?" Nikki asked.

"I just didn't like the way they pointed guns at me and Sid, or my girls!" she said.

Maria then walked up to Ronnie Anne as she wanted a bit of affection. Ronnie then stroked the feline as she continued to plot and plan…

"Don't worry, girl. I'll make sure they get what's coming to them!" Ronnie said as she continued to stroke her pet.

* * *

Despite her hot-headed attitude at that time, Ronnie Anne was right about one thing. The mafia were ones to walk all over other children and treat them like garbage. Case in point, her cousin Carl was given his latest in a long line of tediously horrific jobs that day…

"Ugh! Cleaning dung out of a barn?! SERIOUSLY?!" Carl griped after being told his work for the day.

"I hope you're not complaining, because Don doesn't like whiners!" one of the mafia guards threatened as he pulled out his gun.

"I'll be good." Carl nervously responded as his voice shrieked.

The guards then left to allow Carl to fulfil his task.

"Stupid mafia bozos! Making me clean up all the animal droppings in a farm! Why are they being such jerks?!" Carl moaned to himself as he reluctantly committed to the work he was given.

"Eh, quit your bellyaching! At least they didn't make you clean up the entire sewer!" one boy shouted from the other end of the barn.

Carl turned to face the other kid, who was a big, burly pre-teen boy, who then revealed himself.

"The name's Steak Stancko! I'm the strongest, toughest, meanest S.O.B. there is." the macho man (or boy) declared.

"Yeah, well my name's Carl… Carl Casagrande." the smaller boy replied.

"Well, Carl. Best quit your whining, or else the Don's gonna make mincemeat out of all of us! Of course, you should know that by now!" Steak told him.

"I know. I normally just get on with it, but this job is the worst so far. It's like they're trying to punish me." Carl cried.

"Yeah? Well, the word on the street is, Don has a special liking for a kid named Carl he met recently. That wouldn't be YOU, would it?" Steak asked.

"Ha, I doubt it. We did meet before, actually I just met him again yesterday, but I don't think he likes me. He certainly doesn't if this is the kind of job he's giving me!" Carl said.

"Well, get used to it! A good for nothing runt like you ain't worth putting anywhere else! Me, on the other hand… soon I'll be joining the EWF. Then I'll be a big deal!" Steak proudly stated.

"EWF?" asked Carl.

"Elite Wrestling Federation. It's become a huge thing recently! All the toughest and strongest child and teenage athletes compete for juicy rewards like huge amounts of food, money, and other stuff! When I get there, I'll crush the competition!" Steak declared as he cracked his knuckles.

"Could you take me with you? If you ever get out, I mean." Carl requested.

After a brief few seconds of Steak blankly staring at the young boy after such an absurd request, he broke the silence and reacted.

"BWAHAHA HA HA HA!" Steak laughed.

"What's so funny!?" Carl asked, insulted.

"You? What use would you be?! You're a tiny little boy! You ain't nothing!" Steak harshly told him.

"Hey, I'm tough!" Carl insisted.

"HAHAHAHA HA! Stop it, you're killing me!" Steak continued.

"Well, I don't know… maybe I could be like an announcer or something." Carl enthusiastically proposed.

Steak then continued to laugh uncontrollably as he found the idea of Carl trying to make it in something like the EWF hilarious.

Carl then carried on with his work, grumbling to himself about the larger boy's blatant disrespect towards him. Yet, he didn't dare call him out on it, knowing what would likely happen if he did.

Carl then remembered the exchange between himself and Don the day before…

_"So, if I'm to make anything of myself in this world, I have to be…?"_

_"Cold, heartless, ruthless, and tactical all the same. Never let others get away with challenging your authority. You will live to regret it."_

He knew more than ever that those words of advice were valuable to him in the new world of hostile children and bullies. He also knew that it would take time and effort to make something of himself like he wanted to. But the more he was wronged and disrespected by others, the stronger his determination to rise among the ranks grew.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, the Loud family had their fateful sibling meeting. Luna Loud was about to drop a bombshell on the rest of the family that would knowingly change their lives forever…

As Luna, supported by her comedic sister, prepared to speak to her remaining family, audible chatter was occurring between the other siblings.

"What do you think this sibling meeting is about?" Lana asked the others.

"I don't know." Lola said.

"Maybe she's sick." Lucy suggested.

"Maybe she has decided to cease her role as leader of the group." Lisa theorised.

"I guess you could be right, Lisa. We've all noticed something a little off with Luna recently. Maybe the stress is finally getting to her." Lincoln said.

"Yeah, well, if she does, I call dibs on being in charge!" Lynn told the others.

"Hey! You can't just call dibs on something like that!" Lincoln argued.

"Yeah, well I just did. I'd be the best leader anyway; leaders need to be strong!" Lynn said.

But before their argument escalated any further, Luan decided to bring the focus back to Luna. She brought a trumpet into the room with her so she could blow a loud noise, effectively silencing the bickering between her younger siblings.

"Okay everyone! Our sister Luna has something she would like to say!" Luan said loudly in order to maintain everyone's undivided attention.

"Um… there's no easy way to say this. But… I'm afraid I won't be around for much longer." Luna struggled to say.

This earned some very puzzled and rather angry expressions from her sisters and brother.

"What are you talking about?!" Lola questioned.

"What do you mean by that? Are you walking out on us?!" Lana followed.

"She's bailing on us, guys! She's a snake!" Lynn accusingly said.

"Hey! Luna has the floor, give her a chance to speak!" Luan demanded from the other sisters.

"Look, the truth is I've been keeping some important info secret from all of you…" Luna began to explain.

"Just remember, she's been going through a lot these last few weeks, so go easy on her!" Luan interrupted.

"…about something I've heard from the newspapers about my 16th birthday in two days…" Luna tried to continue.

"So, listen to what she has to say and try to look at it from her point of view!" Luan interrupted again.

"Dude! I know you're trying to help but would you please just knock it off?!" Luna said, irritated.

"Oops, sorry." Luan replied, embarrassed.

"Anyway. According to word of mouth, it turns out that everyone who has turned 16 after the day of 'The Big Vanish' as we now call it is also disappearing. It looks like I only have two days left." Luna explained to her siblings.

She could see the faces of her brother and sisters gradually transform from angry, to worried, then frightfully upset and distraught after her sentence reached its conclusion. She hated seeing such a personally distressing sight, but she knew it's what had to be done.

"Look… I know you're all upset, but I need you to understand." Luna tried to rationalise.

"How long have you known?" Lincoln asked, audibly hurt by the news.

"Huh?" Luna replied.

"Stinkoln said… how long have you known?!" Lynn demanded.

"A few weeks now. Just a few days after mom, dad, Lori and Leni left us, actually." Luna confessed.

"WHAT?! You knew all these weeks and you didn't tell us?!" Lola furiously shouted at her sister.

"We could have helped you!" Lana followed.

"Okay, why don't we calm down and just try to…" Lincoln tried to intervene, but was cut off.

"Calm?! No way! Luna tells us two days before her birthday that she's gonna go bye-bye on us when she turns 16 and we're supposed to act CALM?!" Lynn violently questioned.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked a genuinely hurt Lucy.

"Luce, I didn't mean to hurt any of you. I just didn't find the right time to…" Luna tried to reassure her.

"Is it because you don't trust us?! We're just trouble who you don't want to bother with?!" Lola accused.

"No! That's not what it was!" Luna said.

"Guys, give her a break. She knows she goofed up here. But she's had a lot to deal with!" Luan defended.

"Stay out of it, braceface!" Lola shouted.

"Hey, no name calling your sister!" Luna yelled, trying to defend Luan back.

"Ha, why should we listen to you?! It turns out you're not going to be around for much longer anyway!" Lola venomously spat back.

"Harsh, dude!" Luna said in defence of herself.

"For once, I agree with the overly pampered pageant princess. Your blatant deceptive tactics, combined with your limited remaining duration in this mortal void leave your authoritative legitimacy at an all-time low." Lisa said.

"Please, everyone! This is why I didn't want to say anything! I knew you wouldn't take the news well." Luna claimed.

"Don't turn this back around on us!" Lynn argued.

"Yeah, this is all your fault!" Lola continued.

After a brief moment of listening to some of her sisters hurl insults and accusations her way, Luna finally decided she had enough and reminded them who's boss…

"ENOUGH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, making sure the others shut up and listened.

"That does it! Now I may not be here for much longer, but while I am, you will do as I say! Now quit whining and let's have a rational discussion!" Luna laid down the law.

All of her siblings were taken aback by this, almost too effectively. They all sat there, actually quite intimidated of their eldest sister.

"Dang it! Sorry, dudes. I didn't mean to… I'm sorry, alright? I know you have every right to be angry and upset. I just… thought you should know. Sorry I kept it from you for so long." Luna said, disappointed in herself, as she hung her head down and began to walk out of the room.

After Luna left, there was an awkward silence between the siblings. They had all said their piece, but it appeared all that caused was heartache and emotional turmoil. Finally, the quietest of the sisters broke the silence…

"You know something?" Lucy finally chipped into the discussion.

"What?" asked Lincoln.

"All these years I've been really into death and the afterlife. Now I'm starting to rethink that." Lucy reflected.

"It is unfortunate what is going to inevitably occur to our sister, and even more concerning what implications it entails for the rest of us." Lisa stated.

"Huh?" Lana asked.

"Well, if this is happening to our eldest sibling, I can only theorise the same is certain to happen to us." Lisa morbidly claimed, further horrifying the siblings.

"Woah, woah, woah! WHAT?!" Lynn responded in shock and horror.

"I'm too young to die! Or vanish!" Lola followed.

"Hold on a minute! Let's not get ahead of ourselves! Maybe what Luna heard is only a rumour. Let's not just assume anything. Besides, right now we should be focusing on Luna." Lincoln said.

The other sisters knew he made a valid point and ceased their griping. Luan then decided to speak on behalf of her roommate.

"You know, that there, just a minute ago, is why she didn't want to say anything." Luan lectured.

"Guys, I think we screwed up. I know we have a right to be upset about her lying to us, but Luna has been good to us since mom and dad have been gone." Lincoln stated.

"She did turn down her girlfriend to stay with us." Lana pointed out.

The Louds then began to feel ashamed of themselves. They took their anger and frustration too far. They know that as tough as it was for them to hear what they had just been told, what Luna must have been going through herself was far worse…

* * *

Luna walked back to her bedroom, feeling ashamed in herself for letting it get to that point instead of just telling them sooner. She couldn't just completely blame the others for that outburst, as she knew she had withheld the information for far too long, and them lashing out like that was all the more likely at this incredibly late point.

As she isolated herself from her family, another crippling thought entered her brain as events began to take their toll on her emotions…

"Is this what Lori had to struggle with? Becoming so controlling towards us that she stopped being a cool big sis and just a big bossy boots?" Luna asked herself as she climbed up and collapsed on her mattress.

"Now I know why she always got so angry. It was rough for her." she said as she began to understand her vanished older sister's position and the hardship it entailed.

As she laid in her bed, the contextually painful sound of the clock ticking began to prey on her already overly stressed mind. Every tick was another moment of time closer to her own exit from the world.

She wasn't ready.

"I don't want to go." she quietly muttered.


	8. Zero Resolution

A night had passed since Luna revealed her time was coming to an end. She understood why her siblings were angry with her for keeping it from them for so long, but hoped they also understood in turn why she wanted to protect them from anymore heartache for as long as she could.

After having a night to sleep on it, she thought maybe the others had softened up…

Luna walked into the living room to see all of her siblings standing there, tilting their heads up to face her. They all appeared to have angry, betrayed looks on their faces, which is exactly what she dreaded…

"Luna, we have just one thing to say to you!" Lincoln said sternly and seriously.

"What?" she asked nervously as she prepared herself for a verbal bashing.

"Come here, sis." he said with a lot more welcoming happiness and softness to his voice as he leaped over to give her a hug.

The rest of the siblings then quickly joined in. Contrary to Luna's fears, the family was much more understanding and less resentful of her deceptions.

"Wait, you're not mad at me anymore?" Luna asked.

"Well, we are a little." Lola said.

"But then we considered the situation from your point of view, and we came to the conclusion that you had valid reasons for withholding information." Lisa justified.

"We know you just didn't want us to worry until we had to." Lincoln said.

"We still love you, sis!" Lana said.

"We're just sad to see you go." Lynn told her.

"Yeah, I know. That news must have hit you little dudes pretty hard. I'm sorry." Luna said.

"It's okay. We understand." Lucy insisted.

"Thanks, you guys are the best!" Luna told them.

"There's just one thing. Does this mean we're all going to suffer the same fate? Dying at 16?" Lucy asked.

"Well… er, I guess it could." Luna predicted, not really having given it much thought.

"I hope not. I'm too young to die in 10 years!" Lola said.

"Siblings. I wouldn't get overly distressed about this. The events which have been occurring to our unfortunate elders have been instances of instantaneous vanishing. Not death." Lisa explained.

"Yeah, thanks. That makes us all feel way better!" Lynn sarcastically barked at Lisa.

"Look, truth be told, I haven't even considered that. I mean, you're all still so far away from that age." Luna tried to comfortingly say.

"I'm not." Luan said, being only a year younger.

"No, but I know you little dudes. You'll find a way through this. My time is up, but I know you guys will make the most of yours. Who knows? Maybe you'll even find a way to fix all this." Luna said to her younger siblings.

Lisa developed an intrigued yet sceptical expression on her face. She pondered that very idea constantly, but had no idea how to go about actually doing it.

"Anyway, I may be packing my bags and heading off to the heavens soon, but at least I'll leave knowing my family can take care of itself. You guys will make it! I have no doubts about that." Luna said.

"Yeah, we'll all work together to keep each other safe." Luan assured her sister.

"I guess we'll have to decide on a new leader for the family." Lana suggested.

"Well, wouldn't it just be Luan?" Lincoln asked.

Luan gulped quietly to herself, not really wanting that responsibility to be forced on her…

"Well, yeah, I guess. Or you could just go straight to the L-Dawg! I'm the strongest, after all!" Lynn boasted, encouraging Luna to choose her.

"Look, we'll talk about that later. I need some time to think." Luna said, ending the conversation.

Luna then walked into the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of water from the supplies her family had gathered previously. She was happy at least that her siblings had got over the fact that she kept the information about her impending end from them until nearly the last minute. However, she was still a bit nervous, as there was one more piece of important news left to deliver, as she chose who was going to be left in charge of leading her family in the fight for survival in the new world of stray children.

* * *

Fully absorbed into the customs and ways of their allies and protectors, The Mortician's Guard, Clyde and the gang were now visually transformed people.

They all came in wearing black clothing. Clyde, the Spokes brothers, and Liam all had black t-shirts and pants on. Clyde had a mohawk haircut, while Rusty had spiked hand bracelets on, and Liam had striped black and grey sleeves on his shirt. Zach actually had a robe with a hood on that covered his entire petite body, making him resemble a monk. Stella was wearing a black dress with dark purple eyeshadow. All of them were wearing big, thick, black boots. They all looked VERY different.

"I'm still not sure I'll ever get used to this." Rusty remarked over the new wardrobe.

"Eh, I think it's pretty cool." Rocky replied.

"I think we'll get used to it. Besides, it beats being left to be chewed to pieces by a bunch of zombies any day!" Stella reminded them.

"I still wish Lincoln could have been here." Clyde said, clearly missing his buddy.

"Yeah, and Lucy." Rocky quietly whispered to himself.

At that moment, their leader Haiku entered the room…

"I can see you've finally embraced our ways of expression." she commented to the group.

"Well, I'm no huge fan of black, but I guess this isn't so bad." Liam said.

"So, when are we going to learn how to fight with swords and daggers, like you?" Rusty asked.

"All in good time." their leader assured.

"I hope it's soon. It would be good to know how to defend ourselves. You know, with all those bloodthirsty beasts outside ready to eat us." Clyde commented.

"Yeah, it's not exactly easy going to sleep at night, thinking about that. Of course, the choirs you guys put on every midnight don't help, either." Zach said.

"The choirs are an important part of our routine. They're a ritual. We hold them in great esteem." Haiku ominously told them.

"Besides, I find the coffins block out most of the noise for us, anyway." Rocky defended.

"The Guard has decided. You guys will be the ones to guard the lair tonight. Consider this a trial run for you all." Haiku told them.

"Um, what? We're not even trained to defend ourselves yet and you're putting us on guard?!" Zach criticised.

"Yeah, I'm with Zach on this one. That sounds pretty foolhardy." Liam commented.

"Do not worry, the undead never usually approach our base." Haiku promised.

"Usually?" Clyde asked.

"I think we'll be fine, guys. We've got back-up if we need it." Stella said.

"Yeah, we got this." Rocky insisted.

"Good luck." Haiku said before backing away into the darkness.

"Hmm, spooky." Rusty said.

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that." Clyde blurted out anxiously.

"Don't worry. All we have to do is stand by the entrance and warn the others if we spot any sight of those zombies!" Stella said.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Clyde replied as he began to hyperventilate in fear.

"Ut-oh, we got a hyperventilator!" Zach shouted.

"Quick, someone get a paper bag or something!" Liam prompted.

But as the kids rushed around finding Clyde something to breath into, they were all sharing the same fear in the back of their heads. Would they be able to survive the night if any of the undead did make an appearance…?

* * *

Back in Royal Woods, on the other side of town from the Louds, Chandler's election opponent Mike was giving a speech to the local populace as part of his campaign. Chandler's newest ally Chester, however, had something sinister planned…

"My opponent Chandler talks about working hard and reading books. Books, really? BORING!" Mike slandered.

Already his blatant pandering was appealing to the easily impressionable youngsters in his audience.

"Who wants to bring schools and book junk back into our lives?!" Mike questioned.

Most of the kids listening swallowed up his claims and arguments like candy. He knew exactly what to say to make the majority follow his lead.

Of course, there were some kids, like Jordan, Benny, Margo, and so on, who could see through his deceptive tactics, though while they visibly looked sceptical of everything being said, they didn't bother to speak, knowing they would be entering a grossly outnumbered debate.

"When I win this election, I will give you all exactly what you want. I will bring everyone fun and cool stuff to enjoy." Mike announced.

Collective 'Mike' chants were roared by the crowd. It appeared he was owning the popularity contest…

"Wait a minute!" Shouted a different voice.

…and there he appeared, Chester Bundy.

"I would like to ask our beloved candidate a few questions." Chester said.

"All questions will be restricted until after my speech!" Mike declared.

"Really? I hope that doesn't imply what I think it does." Chester replied.

"What do you mean?!" Mike defensively questioned.

"Well, if you don't answer my questions right here, in front of everyone to listen, it might appear to some that you are evading valid criticism. It might make you… untrustworthy." Chester teased.

With that, Mike grew fearful of what the voters would think, so he began to play Chester's game.

"Alright, ask away." Mike proudly ordered, feeling confident.

"Okay, question one. How will you afford the free cake you promised everyone?" Chester asked.

"Um, well, I… I'll get some guy to come and deliver them by the truckload!" Mike answered.

"Yeah, but where will you get the guy or the truck from?" asked Chester.

"And how will they deliver it? No one can drive, and it's nearly impossible to get fuel! Remember?" asked Jordan, one of the more sceptical listeners.

"Well, I'll find a way! Not everything is thought out yet!" Mike accidentally admitted out of panic.

"Dang it!" Mike then said to himself as he face-palmed in frustration for his error.

The crowd then let out a collective gasp after hearing him admit that…

"We were supposed to leave this for the debate tomorrow!" Chandler quietly said to himself and his friend, while watching from a distance, disagreeing with his new ally's underhanded methods.

"What are you complaining about? He's winning your election for you!" his friend Trent told him.

"Okay, question two. Why do you look so much like Lincoln Loud?" Chester asked.

"Huh? That's gotta be a trick question!" Mike complained.

"Just answer it!" Chester calmly yet sternly demanded.

"How is that even relev… ugh! Alright, I look like that stupid Loud kid because I saw him in a supermarket once, copied his look to frame him for some stupid bad stuff for kicks. Then I decided I liked the look and stuck with it. Let's face it, I make it work way better than him." Mike explained.

"So, you don't have an original or creative thought in your brain at all? Hmm, that explains all the ridiculous and far-fetched promises you've made for this campaign." Chester criticised.

"HEY! That's slander and you know it!" Mike told him off.

"Question three." Chester said.

"ENOUGH QUESTIONS!" Mike insisted, clearly frustrated and angry.

"Question… three! How does goof off day differ from Sunday?" Chester asked.

"You're just doing this to make me look bad!" Mike accused.

"Answer it." Chester said, still calm and collected as his interlocutor began to lose it.

"Goof off day is better because I invented it!" he shouted arrogantly.

"His claims are so ludicrous that they fail to hold up under even the most basic levels of scrutiny. This boy is a joke. An immature, ignorant little brat with no idea what he's doing. Vote for Chandler. At least his proposals for reform are actually realistic and useful." Chester argued to his listeners.

"Don't listen to this nobody! I can give you the best stuff! Free soccer balls and footballs whenever you want them! Brand new handheld, battery charged video games for anyone who votes for me! Also, if you vote my way, I'll give you a candy bar for your troubles!" Mike told the crowd.

The more easily manipulated members of the audience began to wonder whether or not he was telling the truth and if they should vote for him.

Chester knew his slander and critiques wouldn't be enough to prevent Mike from fooling the gullible ones with his promises. Sensing Mike would just weasel his way out again and find a way to win back the kids, he gave the thumbs up to someone hanging around on the side-lines to do something for him, while Mike continued to be distracted with his own ranting and lying.

"I am the best guy to vote for here! Chandler and this loser don't know what they're doing! A vote for me is a vote for coolness, that's the truth!" Mike tried to convince them.

But as he continued to rant on, one boy approached him from behind with a bucket of brown substance. Just as Mike was preparing to wrap up his speech, he had the brown stuff thrown on him, much to the amusement of the onlookers and his own humiliation.

"Ugh! Is this… Manure!?" Mike shouted to himself as he smelt what the brown stuff covered all over him was.

Chester let out a deep, evil grin as the hired goon then ran from the scene, leaving Mike to soak up the embarrassment and bad publicity.

"YOU! You did this!" Mike furiously accused Chester.

"Did I? I wasn't the one who threw the bucket! Looks like you have a lot of enemies around here." Chester taunted.

"I know it was you!" Mike declared.

"Why don't you prove it?" Chester challenged.

But it was checkmate. Mike had no way of proving it, and he had been publicly humiliated so badly that it was a given he wasn't going to win. One kid in the audience was already getting out his crayons, ready to draw a picture to go in the following day's crudely drawn local newspaper.

The crowd disbanded as Mike ran away in embarrassment, certain that Chester had squandered his chances for victory, but unable to do anything about it.

"It's over. You've won. I bet he won't even bother to show up for the debate tomorrow." Chester told Chandler as he passed him, having solidly owned the opposition on his behalf.

Chandler could only emit a baffled and gobsmacked expression on his face over what he had just seen…

"I can't believe this! All this ridiculous stuff really isn't what I expected out of politics." Chandler said.

"You clearly never were into politics before 'The Big Vanish', huh? They did underhanded stuff like this all the time. The 2016 election, for example, was full of tricks, immature spats and ridiculous promises from both sides." Trent remarked.

* * *

Back at the Loud House, Luna was ready to discuss with her brother and sisters the best way for them to move forward after she disappeared. She had a plan in mind, and a certain someone she felt she could count on…

"Alright, everyone. Listen up. With me about to become a pile of dust…" Luna started.

"Well, technically, there were no remains when the others vanished, so you won't turn into dust." Lisa interrupted.

"Thanks, sis. It's cool. Anyway, with me gone, all of you little dudes will need to find your own way to make it in this world, as I'm sure you know…" Luna continued.

"You can count on us!" Lana proudly claimed.

"Yeah, we got this!" Lynn bragged.

"I know you got this, brah's. You guys are all totally rad and amazing, and you all have the skills and teamwork to make it through all of this. But… there will be one thing missing, someone to lead." she finished.

The Loud siblings all looked at each other in excitement yet also uncertainty, not sure of who she would pick and who would truly be the best choice.

"Wait, so who do you think should lead?" Lola questioned.

"Well…" Luna said as she turned her eyes to the next oldest remaining sister.

Luan subtly backed off, not wanting to catch Luna's attention…

"Luan?" Luna said as she approached her comedic roommate.

"Yeah, um… look, Luna. I'm honoured that you think I should be put in charge…" Luan began to say.

"Don't worry, sis. It's not you." Luna revealed.

"Oh… right. But why not?" Luan responded, first with a sense of relief, which then transformed into slight annoyance after wondering why Luna was so quick to dismiss her despite Luan herself having not protested yet.

"Sis… I think you would make a great leader. You're smart, you know how to face a situation with happiness and optimism, and you care about your family… as long as it's not April Fools Day." Luna said.

"…but?" Luan asked.

"But… I know you. You like to embrace your child-like nature. That's cool. I can't promise you'll keep all your innocence in this new world of criminal kids and thugs, but I know springing this much onto you all of a sudden would be a bit big of a step for you to take. You'll probably benefit from maturing at your own pace." Luna justified.

"I guess you know me so well, huh?" Luan joked.

"We were roomies for 14 years, I'd like to think I know you pretty well by now." Luna told her.

"Yeah. I mean, the dummy can handle a little babysitting once in a while, but giving her a full-time job as a caretaker for her family? Big mistake." Mr Coconuts said, really Luan joking at her own expense and for relieving amusement.

"That leaves only one other logical choice." Luna then said as she turned around and approached the rest of her siblings.

That left Lynn. The sporty braggart puffed her chest out and grinned as she felt special to be given the honour of being left in charge of the Loud family, or what remained of it. She was the strongest, after all, and a leader must be strong.

"Lunes, Lunes… I'm honoured that you would…" Lynn started to say.

"Bro, are you up to it?" Luna then asked Lincoln.

"WHA…?!" Lynn yelled in disbelief.

"You're going to leave Lincoln in charge?" Lola questioned.

"Lincoln is the best choice. He's the man with the plan. He has a logical brain and thinks of ways out of tough situations." Luna explained.

"Yeah, but they don't always work." Lana commented.

"So, nobody's perfect, but Lincoln has proven himself to be a capable leader. I mean, think of all the times he's looked after you? Took care of your needs? Settled your problems and fights?" Luna asked her younger sisters.

The younger sisters then considered what she was saying, and their expressions said it all. They went from looking sceptical, to optimistic and supportive about Luna's proposal.

"She's right. He has." Lucy said.

"Statistically speaking, Lincoln has more experience babysitting and nurturing us than anyone else in the family, other than Lori of course." Lisa noted.

"You know, I think Lincoln would actually be a pretty cool leader." Lana praised.

"Aw, thanks." Lincoln replied as he blushed.

"He even helped Clyde look after us one time." Lucy said.

"Okay, is everyone cool with me leaving Lincoln to take care of you guys?" Luna asked.

"Yes." Lucy replied.

"I'm fine with it." Lola followed.

"It is the most logical decision." Lisa concluded.

"And Lincoln… bro, are you ready for this? I believe you're smart and responsible enough to lead this family. But I won't lie, it's not always easy. Do you think you can handle it? I won't force being a leader on you. It's your choice." Luna told her brother, trying not to intimidate him by asking too much all of a sudden. She kneeled down and faced him so she could speak with him intimately.

"Luna, I… I don't know what to say. I mean, if it's what you want, then I think I should take you up on it." Lincoln said.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes. I think I'm ready for this. Thanks for having the trust in me." he responded.

"No problem, bra…" Luna replied, but was cut off.

"HEY! Wait just a minute! I don't even get a consideration?!" Lynn blurted out in anger.

Luna then got up and walked over to face Lynn, sensing a confrontation was brewing. Lynn felt a little overlooked and underappreciated, and Luna could see that. She didn't want everything to end in a verbal battle, but she knew her jock sister was unlikely to just back off.

"LJ, calm down. I'm just making the best choice…" Luna said, trying to calm her jock sister down, but she was unsuccessful.

"Why is HE the best choice?! What makes him so special?!" she demanded to know.

"Look, dude. Lincoln is the best suited for the role of leader. It's no offence against you. I just think you work best as the brawn out of all of us." Luna tried to justify.

"Yeah, that's true, but I still think I should be in charge!" Lynn insisted.

Luna thought of what to say in response. She knew Lynn felt insulted about not being considered instead of Lincoln, as if she was unworthy of being given responsibility, like she was being looked down on. But that's not why Luna picked Lincoln over her at all, and she realised she just needed to say the right words to get that point across. In truth, she just wanted Lynn to calm down, as she didn't want the whole thing to be any harder than it already was.

"Lynn, please listen to me. My decision to pick Lincoln is nothing against you, I want you to know that." Luna tried to reason.

"Oh, please! I've heard all that before! Let's be honest, you guys have never seen me as anything but a dumb brute before now!" Lynn accused.

"You got it all wrong, dude! That's not why I'm choosing Lincoln." Luna said.

"Then why?! Why am I not good enough? I mean, you didn't even ask me! You didn't even consider that I might actually be pretty good at it. Is it because you think I'm stupid?! Or just irresponsible?!" she asked, unable to hide the fact that Luna bypassing her actually hurt her deeply.

"Lynn, that's not true." Lincoln tried to interject, doing his best to neutralise the situation.

"Stay out of this, STINKOLN!" Lynn bit back.

"You know what? I won't, you need to cool off!" Lincoln responded, not letting Lynn push him around.

Lynn then began to walk towards Lincoln, staring him down…

"What kind of leader are you gonna be anyway, Stinkoln?! Not a good one. You're too weak to be in charge!" Lynn insisted.

"And you're too hot-headed and immature!" Lincoln argued back.

"You know, when we shared a room together, I made a crack about there being a distinct lack of balls in the room. I wasn't just referring to my sports balls!" Lynn insultingly said.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Lincoln angrily asked.

"Come on, you're not strong enough to be a leader! You're not man enough to be leader! Let's face it, I'm the closest thing to a man in this family! All this time, it was never you who was the odd one out around here! You're a perfect fit in this house. You're almost as girly as Lola!" Lynn mocked.

"Hey, I'm all man, in my own way! And okay, maybe I'm a little sensitive and in touch with my feminine side at times, but at least I'm true to who I am!" Lincoln defended.

"And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" Lynn spoke through gritted teeth.

"What about you, Lynn?! Since we're talking the truth about each other, why don't I just bring up the fact that behind all the rough, abrasive attitude is a little girl who's angry and butthurt because she got picked on in Middle School?! You put on an act because deep down, you're just a scared little girl who can't handle it! So why don't you tell me who's really WEAK?!" Lincoln harshly but understandably brought up.

The rest of the siblings went silent as they knew how much of a touchy subject that was for the resident jock. Lincoln, sensing he might have gone too far, tried to apologise…

"Lynn, I'm sorry. I…" he tried to say…

…but as he attempted to apologise, Lynn went to punch him in the face. Lincoln immediately closed his eyes and braced himself for the oncoming impact.

Fortunately for him, Luna stepped in to block the punch, grabbing Lynn's arm with her hand.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Luna shouted as she used all her weight to knock Lynn to the ground.

"How dare you try to hit your own brother!" Luna yelled at her sister.

"He deserved it!" Lynn argued.

"Go to your room!" Luna ordered.

"Ha, you gotta be kidding? Like I'm gonna listen…" Lynn tried to disobey.

"I said, GO TO YOUR ROOM!" Luna roared with immense levels of anger and rage, having had enough of Lynn's tantrum.

While trying to keep a brave face, even Lynn knew when to back off and let the situation die down. She knew Luna was serious, and at her breaking point. Lynn did not want to provoke her further.

Lynn ran upstairs to her room, while Lincoln was still shook up by what just happened, and the fact that he almost got knocked out by his own sister. A definite blow to his ego, which was unfortunate as he was about to be left in charge of his whole family.

Luna then looked over at the other siblings, and saw what was perhaps the most painful sight she could have seen. They were all gazing at her with intense fear, genuinely intimidated by just how imposing she could be when properly 'motivated' to be firm and strict. They all knew exactly why she had to be tough with Lynn, but that didn't change the fact that it scared them…

Luna, exhausted by everything, just walked out of the room. That to her, was the final step of a process she had been loathing the whole time. In her mind, she stopped being the cool big sis, and was now only an imposing dictator to her siblings, a burden Lori also had to carry on her shoulders.

And with only one day left before her inevitable disappearing act, that seemed to be the rather depressing note she was going to leave on.


	9. Rock Til You Drop

Luna was having some time to herself in the Loud House. Her 16th birthday was about to commence, and with that, the end of her existence. Never before was there such a reason to absolutely loathe an oncoming birthday. But the new world that was created since the events of 'The Big Vanish' changed a lot of things. Luna sat on the staircase, during the darkness of the early morning hours, and pondered to herself.

But then she heard footsteps coming from below. She looked downwards at the bottom of the stairs, and there she was…

The sporty sister she had a spat with earlier.

"How did you get there? You were in your room earlier." Luna questioned.

"You and me. We're having it out! Right here. Right now." Demanded an irritated Lynn.

"What's there to talk about, sis? I've already made up my mind. I'm leaving Lincoln in charge." Luna said, trying to brush her off.

"Nuh-uh. No offence to Stinkoln, but he's not 'leader' material. He's too weak. This family needs somebody strong and tough!" Lynn argued.

"Luan's taking it better than you. Maybe I should make her the leader instead. She is next in line, after all." Luna mentioned.

"Ugh! Why is everyone cut out to be a good leader except me, according to you?!" Lynn demanded to know.

"Look, why can't you just let it go, dude? You could at least respect my decision!" Luna told her.

Lynn only became more irritated and angry as a result of that last sentence, while Luna was struggling, trying really hard not to release an emotional outburst of her own. But Lynn wasn't one to just stop in her tracks. She was going to keep on pushing, she wasn't going to back down a second time…

"No way! I am two years older than Stinkoln! I'm at least three times stronger and I'm way, WAY tougher! I can't be expected to take orders from my own little bro!" Lynn insisted, suggesting such a thing would be an insult to her.

Luna just sat there, trying to brush off Lynn's criticisms and moaning, while hoping she would just drop it if she ignored her. Unfortunately, the two girls had differing goals. While Luna just wanted the argument to end, Lynn wanted to make sure Luna took notice of her objections.

"HEY! Don't just sit there and pretend I'm not here!" Lynn aggressively yelled at her as she put one foot on the stairs, slowly approaching her older sister.

Luna's patience was hanging on by a single thread. After all the emotional turmoil she had been through, this was enough to push her over the edge. She desperately tried to cling onto her level-headedness, but then…

"Just tell me, Luna, why are you SO against the idea of me leading the family?! Is it that you just have NO respect for me?!" Lynn shouted at her.

"GRRUGHH! YOU WANNA KNOW WHY I DIDN'T LEAVE YOU IN CHARGE!? WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELF?!" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs, her mental state having finally got the better of her.

Lynn, taken aback in surprise and even a little fear, stepped back as she braced herself for a scalding…

"YOU'RE RIGHT! YOU'RE THE STRONGEST AND THE TOUGHEST! YOU'RE ALSO THE MOST SELFISH AND RECKLESS OF US ALL!" she continued to yell towards her younger sister.

She then lowered her voice just a little, but it was still quite loud and imposing…

"Lincoln is the best choice to lead this family after I disappear tomorrow! No, he's not as strong or as badass as you, Lynn! But he's responsible, he's resourceful, he's capable of thinking with a clear and calm head! He isn't too aggressive or destructive. Those are all things that make a good leader! And I'm sorry, LJ, but you don't have them!" Luna told her jock sister.

"He'll struggle. He's not as assertive as me or Lori. He'll find it hard to control all of you when you're getting out of line. But he'll learn, he'll pick it up as he goes! Our little bro has the makings of a great head of the house! If you were really a good sister, you'd try to help him instead of diss him every chance you get! But that's not you, is it?! You only ever think about yourself!" Luna stated as she called out Lynn's selfishness.

"Hey! That's not true! I don't just think of myself!" Lynn tried to defensively say.

"Oh yeah, really? While you were whining to yourself about not being picked to be the leader after I was gone, and decided to come here and pick a fight with me about it, did you even stop to consider that I didn't need it?" Luna asked.

"Well, I…" Lynn started, but was cut off.

"Do you think I like this?! The way things are, do you think I wanted any of this?! I never wanted to be in charge of all of you! You weren't the only one with dreams, you know. I had so many ambitions and aspirations before all this happened! I was gonna be a Rockstar! I was gonna have my own band, and lots of big hits in the music biz, dude! But then mom and dad, and Lori and Leni all went and disappeared on us, and I got stuck taking care of all of you! You know what else? When Sam came to see me some time ago, she offered for the two of us to just run away together and spend our last weeks with each other!" Luna said as she let off some steam.

Lynn grew a very surprised and incredibly guilty expression on her face, as Luna revealed all of this to her.

"But I didn't go, because I had to stay here and take care of you guys! And this is the thanks I get for it?! I've been frustrated with the way things are, too, but I didn't say anything until now, because I was trying to keep strong for all of you!" Luna finished.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't know." Lynn replied as she began to feel saddened with guilt.

"No, it didn't even occur to you, did it? You were too busy thinking about yourself and your reputation. Just remember one thing, you're not the only one who has lost a lot because of all this." Luna told her, her voice having quietened down but still having an angry tone to it.

Lynn hung her head down in shame as she came to realise her gripes were rather petty and trivial. She knew what Luna was telling her was true, and she regretted her aggressive demeanour from before.

"Today, I'm going to fade away forever. I'm now just waiting around until the clock decides my time is up! So, tell me. Which of us has the bigger reason to be royally P-O'ed right now?" Luna finished with a blatantly rhetorical question.

Luna then stood up, and walked upstairs to her room, leaving Lynn with her head hanging down. The little sporty Loud girl recognised that she received a harsh, but fair, wake-up call. Luna, meanwhile, felt horrible about verbally roasting Lynn like that as she retreated to her bed. But she did feel a slight ounce of relief mixed in as she was finally able to vent out some anger and stress that had been building up on the inside.

* * *

Chandler had gathered up all the kids in his local area, into an abandoned public hall building, and prepared for a debate with the likes of his opponent, Mike. Two podiums were on the stage while all the kids took a seat. Chandler stood in one, with his associates Trent and Chester behind him, but the other one was empty. It appeared his opponent was a no show…

"Where is Mike?!" shouted Jordan as the crowd grew impatient of waiting.

"I'll bet he doesn't dare to show up after he got embarrassed yesterday by that kid!" Mollie said aloud.

"Which one? The guy who slandered him or the one who threw dung on him?!" Margo replied.

"Ha, both!" Mollie joked.

The kids all began to laugh as Chandler looked on. He was very torn about the whole situation. On one hand, he was sure to win the election and be democratically granted leadership over his followers like he wanted. On the other, he did it in the most insincere and dirtiest way possible.

Then the boy responsible for employing said dirty tactics walked up from behind and whispered in his ear while the kids continued to laugh.

"Why the long face, 'Mr President'? You won." Chester reminded him.

"Yeah, thanks to you and your dirty tricks!" Chandler quietly bit back.

"Like I said, it's a dog eats dog world. Anything to win." Chester justified before walking away.

After a moment, the laughter died down and Chandler decided to call-off the debate, knowing Mike was not going to make an appearance…

"It seems my opponent will not be attending the debate today. Therefore, I will make the decision to cancel it now. Voting booths have been set up and voting will start as of this moment. You all have until lunch time tomorrow to cast your votes. After that, there will be a new president and committee." Chandler announced.

And with that, the voting began. All the kids made their pick. It appeared Chandler was certainly going to win. There were other popular kids with cliques and groups who may snatch a small proportion of the vote, and probably obtain the runner up committee seats, but he knew no one had enough widespread popularity amongst the whole local populace for his victory to be under any threat.

* * *

But while Chandler and the children of Royal Woods were making their voices and opinions heard, Ronnie Anne felt the children of Great Lakes City were being too suppressed by the likes of Don Morito and his army.

She had swiped a shopping cart from the supermarket across the street of her family's apartment, turned it upside down and used it as a stand so she could speak out loud to passing boys and girls. Her cousins, friends and pet tigers were all standing beside her.

"For the last month, I've watched all of you run and hide, scared of these little jerks in suits and ties, hauling around big, fancy guns with them! I've had enough of that!" Ronnie Anne shouted, attracting the attention of a few of the kids hanging around in the area at the time.

"Yeah!" Sid shouted in support of her friend.

"I've been watching these arrogant little bullies driving around, despite being underaged I might add, in their fancy limousines, pointing their big weapons at every kid who dares put a foot wrong, thinking they're the big cheese. They're not! I'm not going to just roll over and take it like a chump! Who's with me?!" Ronnie Anne shouted as she raised her fist in the air out of excitement.

But while her message was sound, her words were not enough to get any of the timid, vulnerable, oppressed children on board with taking such a risk.

"Sorry, but who are you exactly?" one boy asked.

"And why should we trust you?!" asked another.

"Do you know who Don Morito is? He's a mafia boss! He's got lots of people on his side! What do we have?!" one girl shouted.

"We have teamwork and dedication. Surely you don't want to keep being victims of this gang of thugs?!" Ronnie argued back.

"Look, I admit, I was with you guys. I thought her ideas were far-fetched and crazy when she said them." Sid chipped in.

"Erm… not helping!" Ronnie said to Sid, annoyed.

"But… I think she makes a valid point! Bullies need to be taught that people are going to stand up to them!" Sid insisted to the other kids.

But as Ronnie Anne and Sid tried to gather a group of supporters for their alliance of rebels against the local tyranny of the mafia, a few of the mafia's guards happened to drive by, when they noticed the little get-together of all the local kids.

"That looks like trouble." one of the suited boys said.

"Let's put these little runts in their place!" the other one responded.

"Make sure those kids are taught a valuable lesson." Instructed a third voice from the back of the limousine.

With that, the car stopped and the two boys got out of the vehicle, each carrying a pistol in their hand.

"What is this?!" one of the boys asked.

"It's that little hooded girl again! The one with the stupid tigers!" the other boy pointed out, with his little comment causing the tigers to growl at him in anger.

"Oh, you again! Why am I not surprised?!" the first boy directed at Ronnie Anne.

"Huh, tough talk. Why don't you put down that little gun of yours and fight me mano el mano?" Ronnie Anne challenged.

"Mano el mano? I don't know how I'm going to do that. For starters, you're a girl!" the boy said.

"You know what I mean! But you're just a coward and a bully!" Ronnie bit back.

"Look, just back away and go back to your little homes and shelters, or we'll be forced to sort you losers out!" the second boy demanded.

The other children then quickly fled the scene, having no desire to challenge the authority of the mafia, leaving only Ronnie and her friends left.

Ronnie Anne didn't want to back down, angrily standing tall and bravely confronting the armed thugs. Her tigers were with her, viciously growling and make their intent to fight back clear. However, Sid and the others were less aggressive and more fearful in their expressions and body language.

"Um… Ronnie Anne. I think we should go now." Sid said to her friend.

Ronnie finally had a wake-up call when one of the boys pointed their pistol right at her. She knew she was in over her head at that point as she let out an audible gulp.

"Please, let my cousin go!" CJ pleaded with the two armed boys.

"And who are you?" one of them asked.

"I'm Carlos Casagrande Jr, Ronnie Anne's cousin." CJ answered.

But that information then intrigued the third person in the limousine, parked right behind where the altercation was taking place.

"Casagrande, you say?" asked the third boy, who slowly got out of the vehicle and walked over to confront the Casagrande family.

As he walked over to intervene in the situation, the first two boys lowered their weapons and turned to face him, hinting at a chain of command between them.

"Now that name you just spoke sounds familiar. You must be that little runt's family." the boy presumed.

"Who are you?" CJ questioned as the boy approached him.

"Don Morito, King of Great Lakes City." he arrogantly said.

"YOU! You're the one who has Carl!" Ronnie Anne shouted.

"Yes, I do, and there's nothing you can do about it." Don calmly and confidently gloated.

"Just you wait, the Casagrandes will bring you and your pathetic little empire down!" Ronnie promised.

"I think the only ones who are pathetic are you." Don insultingly said.

The tigers then growled loudly at Don, but that only prompted the two other suited boys to point their guns at the tigers.

"Make your little kitty cats behave, or we'll be forced to shoot!" one of the armed boys commanded.

Sensing gunfire was imminent, Ronnie Anne took a calculated risk by trying to play a mental game of chicken with the two suited children…

"Come on, guys. We both know you won't do it. You may look tough, wearing suits and holding weapons, but when it comes down to it, you don't have the guts!" Ronnie daringly told the two hostile boys.

"Last warning, little girl! I will put a hole in your head!" one boy shouted as he pointed the gun right at Ronnie's forehead.

"Go on then, do it! Shoot me dead and prove to your boss here that you're his number one guy!" Ronnie challenged as she grabbed the gun with both her own hands and encouraged him to shoot.

"What's she doing?!" Sid nervously asked the others through a quiet whisper, fearing for her best friend's life.

"I don't know, she's crazy!" Casey quietly remarked.

"Shh. I think she's playing reverse psychology with him." Nikki whispered.

"Come on, tough guy! Show me you got it in ya!" Ronnie practically begged.

The boy then nervously struggled as his body and hands began to wobble out of tension. Finally, his anxiety and fear got the better of him, and he dropped the gun.

"I'm sorry, sir." the boy then said as he hung his head down in shame.

"That was pretty pathetic." Don told his bodyguard.

"See what I mean. Behind all the suits and guns, your just scared little kids like the rest of us!" Ronnie said to her adversaries.

Don then turned his head to face his other minion.

"What about you?" Don asked him.

"Heh, I'm fine." the boy replied.

"Prove it, shoot her." Don ordered.

The second boy then faced Ronnie Anne and his tense, uneasy expression and growing amount of sweat said it all. Don immediately retreated from the situation, though not out of fear, but because…

"That was disappointing. I'll leave you two incompetents to the mercy of my enemies. Ta-ta for now." Don said as he retreated to his vehicle and had the driver make an escape…

"Ugh! Now look at what you've done?!" one of the boys shouted at Ronnie.

Ronnie Anne then decided she'd had enough and socked the boy straight in the jaw, taking him down.

"Woo hoo! Clobber him, Ronnie Anne!" Sid and the others cheered.

The second boy then went to attack her but was chased off by the tigers, who's instincts immediately kicked in when they saw their owner in danger.

"That's my girls!" Ronnie said proudly as she saw them chase the boy off.

The first kid then got back up and waited for Ronnie to turn back around before hitting her in the face, sending her stumbling backwards.

"Oh, so shooting me is too much but you've got no problem hitting a girl?!" Ronnie asked angrily.

"I was taught not hitting a girl is sexist, so don't expect me to hold back!" the boy said as he raised his fists.

"Good, then you won't have any excuses when I kick your butt!" Ronnie replied, raising hers.

The boy then threw another punch but Ronnie ducked and executed a mean hook to the body, winding him. Ronnie then delivered a cross punch to the head, followed by a head hook and a headbutt. As the boy stumbled backwards in pain, Ronnie ran up and performed a superman punch, knocking her opponent out.

"WOW! That was awesome!" Sid cheered.

But her victory was in vain, as three more limousines then arrived, all filled with armed, suited boys.

Ronnie Anne quickly whistled as her tigers approached her. She climbed on one of their backs, and they began to run.

"Guys, get out of here, quick!" Ronnie Anne shouted to her friends as it appeared the situation had turned dire.

By chance, Sid was standing in the way of the tigers, allowing Ronnie Anne to pick her up and put her on one of their backs as they made their getaway.

"Woah!" Sid said as she struggled with riding on a running tiger for the first time.

Unfortunately, the other kids were unable to escape in time, cornered and surrounded by a dozen suited boys and teens with loaded firearms. Don finally made a reappearance, emerging from behind his men.

"Well well well… it looks like we have more workers for the fields, boys." Don slyly gloated in victory.

* * *

Luna was in her bedroom, lying and waiting for her final moment. She wasn't certain exactly what second she would suddenly disappear, but she knew it was about time.

As she waited for her end to arrive, she heard a knock on the door. She thought maybe it would be Lynn, which she hoped for since she could apologise before she went.

Instead, it was all the other siblings, gathered outside her door.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" they all collectively shouted.

After a brief pause, Luna began to tear up in response to her sibling's gesture of affection.

"Thank you, guys. You're all the best." She said in praise of her siblings.

"You helped us get through the worst. We'll never forget that." Lucy said.

"We'll make you proud." Lincoln told her.

"I know you will, bro." Luna said.

"To show you how much you mean to us, we went up in the attic and found a little something special." Luan said as the twins then handed to Luna a classic, purple coloured, and rather petite guitar, her first ever instrument from her days as a really young infant.

"Wow… this old thing? I haven't seen it in years!" Luna recalled.

"Yeah, your very first guitar. We found it buried underneath some other old stuff up there." Luan said.

"We remembered you used to love classical music and all that old style stuff before you became a rocker girl. So, we thought we'd give you a chance to have one last play on it." Lincoln said.

"That's really awesome of you, guys. I gotta be honest, though. I tried to get back into some of my good old-fashioned guitars lately, but after the loud, booming power of my electric powered ones, they felt a little underwhelming." Luna admitted.

Her siblings slightly lowered their heads, disappointed that they hadn't managed to impress her enough. Luna, realising she sounded ungrateful and feeling she ought to show appreciation for their efforts, changed her tune…

"You know what? That doesn't matter, it's still awesome! Thanks, dudes. This means so much to me." Luna said in gratitude, raising the spirits of her brother and sisters.

"I only wish my gift to you could have been something far more spectacular. Like the cure for this whole vanishing conundrum, for instance." Lisa regretfully admitted.

"It doesn't matter, Lis. You will all be just fine. As for me, I look at all this as just time to move on to a better place." Luna reassured her four-year-old sister, staying strong for her and placing her hand on her shoulder as a means of comforting her.

"I promise, I will fix this for you." Lisa said, determined as she looked up at her sister.

After releasing her sister, Luna then took the guitar and prepared to play one last song. She went into her room, where the acoustics were just right, to play one final tune.

"It's been a while since I played this thing. Let's see if I've still got it." Luna said to herself as she began to play.

Within moments, she managed to refine her skills and generate a truly elegant and polished fine tune. It was like she hadn't stopped playing for a day. Her skills with the guitar were absolutely stellar.

The other siblings remained outside so Luna could play her last song in peace, listening to the music from the hallway. As Luna found a tune to stick to and work with, she decided to add some lyrics to the performance…

_"I once was a girl who wanted to be a rockstar"_

_"But when my family vanished, it left a scar"_

_"My hopes and my dreams were left in the dust"_

_"My equipment abandoned to settle and rust"_

_"Life dealt me a wrecking ball that crippled my passion"_

_"When I lost my parents and sisters of fashion"_

_"I just felt cheated when I had to grow up so fast"_

_"My childhood became just a thing of the past"_

_"But I endured the pain because they needed me"_

_"My sisters and brother are my reason to be"_

_"As much as I hate the fact that my time is up"_

_"I hate it much more that I won't see them grow up"_

_"And LJ, I know we ain't seen eye to eye"_

_"But I'm sorry for flipping out, I hope you know why"_

_"It wasn't easy dealing with all of the stress"_

_"But I shouldn't have made my buttons so easy to press"_

_"I know you will all do well to make me so proud"_

_"Because you are the little dudes who make up house Loud"_

As Luna continued to play and sing to herself in her room, the other siblings continued to listen from outside.

"I don't normally care for inane human emotions, but that was… beautiful!" Lisa admitted as her stoic façade dropped and she began to cry.

"As Luna would say… it's Rockin'!" Lincoln praised, shedding a tear himself.

Then suddenly, the music stopped.

…

…

The Louds peaked into Luna's room once more, but there was no Luna. Just a guitar, dropped on the floor, laying in the middle of the room.

"She's… gone?" Lana asked sadly.

"It looks like it." Luan confirmed.

"I'm going to miss her." Lola said regretfully.

"We knew it was coming… it doesn't make it any easier." Lucy reflected.

The remaining siblings then began to cry. Sensing the need to be strong, Lincoln stomached his heartache and spoke to his sisters.

"It's awful, but all we can do now is move on, and continue to survive. In her honour." Lincoln told his siblings, all while holding back his own emotional sadness for the loss he had suffered, too.

As the mood of the house began to turn more sour, Lynn Junior approached the group, remorseful of her earlier actions…

"Um, guys. Have you seen Luna? I want to apologise to her for how I acted earlier. I was out of line. You too, Lincoln. I had no right to start on you like that. I'm sorry." Lynn said to her brother.

"That's fine, Lynn." Lincoln said, seemingly indifferent to the apology.

"Well, where is she? I need to see her before she goes." Lynn insisted.

"Lynn, Luna is…" Lincoln tried to say, but couldn't bring himself to flatten his sister with the news.

"She's gone, Lynn." Lucy finished on Lincoln's behalf.

At that point, something shattered inside Lynn as not only was her sister gone forever, but she didn't get to apologise and make peace with her before she left. She would never get the chance to reconcile with her sister.

"No! It's not fair! How can Luna be gone?!" Lynn blurted out in frustration.

"I know, Lynn. It's painful for all of us." Lincoln said sadly.

"She'll never know I'm sorry." Lynn said as she hung her head in shame.

"I think she knew, Lynn." Lucy comfortingly put it as she placed her hand on Lynn's shoulder.

"She did. She was a great sister. We'll all miss her." Lincoln said as he and all his sisters reflected on the unfortunate loss of their loved one.

The remaining siblings all embraced in a hug as they tried to make each other feel better during such a stressful time.


	10. Destiny Delivers Different Directions

It was the first morning after the vanishing of Luna Loud. The remaining family felt as depressed and saddened as they did on the day 'The Big Vanish' happened. Lincoln felt some extra pressure, as it was his first day as the designated leader of the family. He and the other siblings were hanging out in Luna and Luan's room, remembering the sister they just lost.

The mood still being suitably low and dark for the day after Luna's demise, Lucy decided one of her poems, mourning the passing of her sister out of respect, was perhaps more appropriate than ever.

_"Dark, depraved, the eternal void"_

_"takes away loved ones, leaves us destroyed"_

_"Our boisterous sister, taken from us"_

_"it feels like we've been hit by a bus"_

_"But there's comfort in knowing she went out in peace"_

_"the pain in our hearts, slightly decreased"_

_"She was wild, fun loving and really cool"_

_"And now she joins the everlasting dead pool"_

"Thanks, Lucy. The lyrics were a little…" Lincoln began to say.

"Dark. Morbid. Depressing." Lola finished.

"Yes. But we know they came from in here, and that's what counts." Lincoln said as he put his hand over Lucy's heart.

"Thank you, Lincoln." Lucy said.

As Lucy sat back down, the new leader of the group decided it was time to do what their lost sister had intended and guide the remaining family on the right track to survival. Lincoln then walked over to the other side of the room and turned around to face the rest of his siblings.

"Okay, everyone. I know we all miss Luna, but I think it's time that we make plans for the next few months." Lincoln began to speak to the group.

"What can we do? Without Luna, we have no idea what we're doing!" Lola said.

"Well, for starters, I intend on bringing all the over 15s back shortly." Lisa stated.

"But how? You don't have any clue how it was caused and nothing to work with." Lucy reminded her.

"There's not even any power." Lana said.

"I'm working on it." Lisa uneasily admitted.

"Well, I trust that Lisa will do everything she can to put this right. But in the meantime, we have to prepare ourselves for a rough road ahead." Lincoln said in an effort to regain the attention of his siblings.

But as he was talking, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard in the background.

"Do you hear that?" Lynn asked.

"It sounds like footsteps." Lana said.

"An unusually large quantity of them." Lisa commented.

Lincoln and the others then decided to see who or what was coming…

As the Loud kids looked out of the front upstairs window, they saw a fearsome might approaching. It was Hank and Hawk. They had returned after their first failed attempt at a house raid. And this time, they brought a LOT more back-up with them.

"My god! How many of them are there?!" Lola shouted in disbelief.

"There must be at least 30 of them!" Lynn guessed.

"They've come back for revenge! They brought over twice as many men this time! We're toast!" Lana yelled.

Lincoln nervously stood and thought to himself about what plan of his could possibly enable him to overcome the odds…

"Lincoln, what's the plan?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, we need something fast!" Lola demanded.

They were one person down from last time, while the opposition had twice as many. Their ammo probably wasn't going to be enough to hold off that many brutish thugs from advancing. As a responsible leader, Lincoln had to make a snap decision…

"Get out!" Lincoln commanded.

"WHAT?!" All the sisters shouted in unison.

"We're abandoning base!" Lincoln said.

"We can't just leave! This is OUR house!" Lana insisted.

"Look, Luna left me in charge, and to keep you safe, I'm telling you, grab your stuff and get out of here! There's no time to argue!" Lincoln ordered.

"Come on, bro. We can take 'em, we've got the high ground!" Lynn argued.

"It's not enough, Lynn. My priority is taking care of you guys, not the house. It's a tough choice, but I have to make it!" Lincoln explained to his sister, who appeared sceptical.

"Unless you've got a better idea. Because if you think you would make a better leader, now's the time to show it!" Lincoln challenged.

Lynn's expression softened as she came to understand Lincoln's position, and she knew she didn't have a better option…

"Your call, bro." she said in acceptance.

"Hey! I'm too young and beautiful to be homeless!" Lola argued.

Lincoln then bent down on one knee to explain to Lola and the other younger ones…

"Don't I know you girls can argue? Look, I know this is hard for you, but we've got no choice. We will find somewhere, I won't leave you without food or shelter. I promise!" Lincoln told his sisters.

They nodded in unison as they began to agree with him.

"Alright, everyone! Quickly get your bare essentials and escape out the backdoor before they get in here!" Lincoln commanded.

* * *

Outside, Hank and Hawk arrived in front of the Loud's front yard, along with over 20 other teenage jocks.

"This is gonna be so sweet!" Hank said.

"Yeah, I've been looking forward to getting back at these dweebs!" Hawk declared.

"Alright, guys…" Hank began.

"CHARGE!" Hawk yelled, giving the signal for their men to follow.

The large group of burly jocks ran towards the Loud House at full speed, with the intent of not only raiding it for any remaining goods, but also leaving it a pile of wreck and rubble.

Effortlessly, the large thugs smashed their way through the door and into the house. They began searching the place, turning it upside down, to find anything valuable inside.

Hank and Hawk, meanwhile, decided to just smash up all the furniture. To them, they were doing it as much for revenge and to hurt the Loud family as they were for any material gains.

"Hey, don't punch that window, or your hand will bleed, and that will make me barf!" Hank shouted at Hawk, who was about to punch one of the glass windows.

"Aw, don't barf, bro, or you'll make me barf!" Hawk said back.

One of their cronies then peaked out the back window and saw the Loud siblings running away.

"Hey, it's those Louds! They're making a break for it!" he said.

"GET 'EM!" Hank and Hawk shouted.

* * *

Lincoln and his sisters, with backpacks on their backs containing their most important possessions, all tried to run away from the advancing army. Lily was also being carried by Luan. However, the thugs were on the pursuit.

"GOTCHA!" one of the thugs yelled as he pounced on Lincoln, who tried to squirm away.

"LINCOLN!" Lynn shouted as she ran over to save her brother.

She gave the bully a violent kick to the head for his troubles, knocking him off her brother. Lynn felt very satisfied, having made it up to Lincoln for their earlier confrontation.

"Lincoln, look out!" she warned him as she saw Hawk approach her brother from behind.

Hawk then picked up Lincoln in one hand and prepared to beat him up.

"You have no idea how much I'll enjoy this!" Hawk said menacingly as he prepared to hit the smaller boy.

Lynn ran over to help, but her protection attempts were in vain as another of the boys tackled her. She then tried to fight him off…

"They need our help!" Luan told her sisters as they rushed in to assist Lincoln and Lynn.

The twins teamed up to brawl against one of the teens, while Lucy and Luan tried to fight off Hank.

"Ha, just a couple of little girls? This will be too easy!" Hank said to himself.

Lucy then pointed at Hank and a swarm of her pet bats fled to her aid. They attacked him, making him run away in pain as he continued to get bit by the flying creatures.

Lincoln had suffered a few bruises from Hawk's punches, before being tossed to the ground, with the brute standing on top of him. Hawk then put his foot onto Lincoln's face and pushed it into the ground…

"This is where little nerds like you belong, in the dirt!" Hawk spat.

The brainy sister Lisa then appeared from behind, with a baton in her hand. Using her short stature to her advantage, Lisa used her weapon and struck the towering bully in the knee cap with it.

"ARGH!" Hawk yelled in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

Lisa then quickly helped Lincoln up as the two began to run off before Hawk recovered. They then ran over to Luan and Lucy, as well as the twins, who had managed to defeat one of the attackers.

"Let's get out of here!" Luan said as the group began to run off.

"What about Lynn?" asked Lincoln.

They saw Lynn holding off as many as the brutes as she could. They didn't want to leave her, but they knew they would be fighting a losing battle if they tried to help…

"GET OUT OF HERE, GUYS!" Lynn told her siblings while fending off the goons.

"But Lynn…" Lincoln tried to say.

"NOW!" she roared before getting slugged in the stomach as the numbers began to overcome her.

Luan reached out and grabbed Lincoln's hand, while holding Lily in the other, and led him away. The seven remaining siblings tried to escape, but more of the thugs kept chasing them. A couple of them caught up with the Loud siblings and began to brawl with them.

Lincoln and Lucy squirmed their way out of the chaos and made one final attempt at fleeing the scene. They finally managed to escape…

"Wait, what about the others?" Lincoln asked, fearing for his sisters.

"Don't worry, they've got this." Lucy assured her brother as they made their way out.

And she was right. The combined aggression of Luan, Lana, Lola, Lisa and even Lily was enough for them to out-brawl the large and burly but ultimately only two thugs they were up against.

"And that's what happens when you mess with the Loud family!" Lana proudly declared.

"Yeah!" Lola said as the two high-fived each other.

"Where are Lincoln and Lucy?" Luan asked.

"They must have quickly made a run for it!" Lana said.

"Oh no, we have to catch up to them! What if they get lost or run into trouble?!" Luan worried.

"They're resourceful. They can handle their own affairs." Lisa said, prompting her sisters to keep moving.

And with that, the Louds managed to escape a savage attack, though in doing so, ended up parting ways with each other amidst the frantic chaos…

…all except one of them. Lynn Junior was still at the mercy of Hank and Hawk.

* * *

In Great Lakes City, CJ and Carlitos, as well as Ronnie Anne's group of friends were taken prisoner by the mafia and placed into a cell together by the ringleader Don Morito. One day after being imprisoned, they were greeted by Don, who decided to visit his new 'recruits'.

"It was a very brave but foolish move your friend made yesterday with that ridiculous motivational speech." Don said to his prisoners.

"She's brave, not foolish!" Nikki argued in defence of her friend.

"Even after getting you all in this mess, you still consider her a friend?" Don asked.

"She wasn't the one who put all of us in here, you are!" CJ said.

"That's because a good leader is strong and does what is needed to ensure no one challenges his position." Don justified.

"You, a good leader? You're a jerk!" Sameer slandered.

"A good leader is one who knows it is better to be feared than loved, if given the ultimatum. I make decisions based on what will keep people afraid of me and therefore obedient. Fear of punishment does just that, which is why I've punished you." Don explained.

"Where did you get that garbage from?!" Casey questioned.

"Machiavelli." Don smugly pointed out.

Carlitos, incapable of proper speech, then blew a raspberry at the mafia boss, to show his hostility towards him.

"Pfft. It's been fun discussing power politics with you all, but I have a city to run. Besides, I have some nice jobs planned out for all of you. Farming, growing vegetables, digging for valuable materials, making new clothes, carving new knives and swords for my guards… the list goes on." Don teased.

The prisoners could only sit in their cell with anger and disgust expressed on their faces in disdain for their captor's words. He had a monopoly over the city, and it seemed there was no one left to challenge it…

As Don walked away from the cell, he shared one last comment with the prisoners…

"You'll start work tomorrow, so you better get some rest. As for your brother Carl, I have more specific plans for him." Don said, with the last sentence intended for CJ and Carlitos exclusively.

* * *

Lynn had received quite the beating. Multiple bruises, a black eye and a bloody nose, and even a missing tooth. As tough as she was, she couldn't defeat that many big brutes all at once. However, most of them had visible bruises and wounds inflicted on them as a result of Lynn's resistance.

"Well, ponytail. You put up a good fight. I've gotta say, I'm impressed." Hawk taunted.

"But we should still teach her a lesson for fighting back in the first place!" Hank said.

"Hmm. How about, if you tell us where the rest of your stupid family went, we'll only punch out half of your remaining teeth?!" Hawk sadistically threatened.

In response, Lynn snorted and then launched a snotty, bloody spit into Hawk's face.

"If I even had a clue, I still wouldn't tell you!" she harshly told them.

"Why you little!" Hawk cried as he went to throw a punch at Lynn, but Hank grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"Wait a minute! The runt obviously doesn't know where they went, she's too stupid for them to trust her with that!" Hank said.

Lynn then growled in response to that insult.

"But I think we could still earn something out of her." Hank continued, before whispering something into Hawk's ear.

"Actually, that's a great idea. It would do our jobs for us, too!" Hawk agreed as the two developed a sinister grin.

"What? What did he just say?!" Lynn asked, not knowing what they had planned.

"You like a good old-fashioned fight, huh?" Hank asked.

"Heck yeah, I love any competition, and I enjoy playing rough!" Lynn responded.

"Then you'll love what we have in store for you! We're signing you up for the EWF!" Hawk told her.

"The E-What?" Lynn asked, confused.

"You'll see." Hawk answered.

Just then, the boy who was previously beaten up by Luan, the twins and Lisa walked over, having finally recovered from his beating…

"I'm back! Sorry guys, they got away!" he told his peers.

Lynn then quietly let out a sigh of relief to herself, thankful that her siblings escaped from the bullies.

"You idiot! Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway, since they're gone and that means nobody can stand in our way!" Hank responded.

"That's right! Franklin Avenue is now ours! This part of Royal Woods belongs to us!" Hawk announced in victory.

* * *

Elsewhere, on the other side of town, the election results were due for confirmation.

"Okay, the results are in. Those in the top five of everyone who was voted for will be allocated a seat in the committee of leaders, while the winner will be granted the position of President." Jordan spoke out to the crowd.

"You've got this." Chester whispered in Chandler's ear.

"And the winner and new President of our faction, with 87 votes is… CHANDLER MCCANN!" Jordan announced.

The crowd cheered as Chandler was hurled up into the air atop everyone's shoulders in praise. Chandler looked down at Chester, who shot back with an arrogant grin, essentially saying to him 'told ya'.

"Now for the runners up. In second place, with 34 votes… Me? Wow, thanks guys." Jordan revealed in surprise.

"Woo! You go, girl!" shouted Mollie and a few of Jordan's other popular girl friends from within the audience.

"Okay, erm… third place, with 29 votes… Benjamin Williams." Jordan confirmed.

"Woah? I actually won a seat?" Benny asked.

"Way to go, Benny!" said one of his theatre club friends standing beside him.

"Fourth place, with 23 votes… Margo Roberts." Jordan continued.

"Wow, I can't believe it!" Margo responded in disbelief.

Her friends then immediately gathered around her for a group hug, which she embraced.

"And finally, the fifth person to be given a seat on the committee, with 16 votes… oh." Jordan then stopped in her tracks.

"What is it?" asked Chandler.

"We appear to have a tie. In fifth place we have Mike. You know, your rival? To be honest, I'm surprised anyone voted for him after what happened the other day. But there's also 16 votes for someone called Chester Bundy." Jordan said.

"That would be me." Chester said as he walked forward to reveal himself to everyone.

"Oh yeah, you're that kid who put Mike in his place!" one boy said.

"Yes, it would appear the public likes me." Chester pointed out.

"Well, since Mike hasn't made an appearance for the turnout, I guess that means we'll give you the seat." Jordan said.

"Excellent." Chester replied.

"There you have it, everyone. Your new committee! The first meeting will commence tomorrow morning." Jordan finished, allowing everyone present to converse amongst themselves.

Chandler was concerned about this rather seedy character receiving such a position of power. He quietly confronted Chester and decided to make it clear who's boss…

"Look, dude. I thank you for helping me win this whole thing, but I'm not sure I approve of all your ideas and decisions. Just remember, you work for me now. So, don't do anything rash or reckless without my say-so! Got it?" Chandler made clear to his newest political ally.

"I'll be on my best behaviour. Don't worry… President McCann." Chester said.

* * *

Luan, the twins, Lisa and Lily all continued to make their way out of Royal Woods entirely. They had made their way out of the built-up area of town and onto a large hill in the surrounding area.

"Okay, looks like we shook them off!" Lana said, acknowledging a lack of pursuers.

"Well, that's my beauty exercise for the day." Lola joked with her remaining energy, audibly exhausted from the whole ordeal.

"The outcome of this day's events was rather bittersweet. While we did escape the advancing threat against our household, we lost three more siblings in the process, as well as our base of sanctuary." Lisa pointed out.

"I know it looks bad, but we have to keep pushing forward and maybe we'll find somewhere we can lay low for a while. As for the others, they can all handle themselves. They're not kids… I mean, they are, but no more than anyone else." Luan said in confidence, still holding her baby sister in her hands.

"Hey, look." Lana called out to her sisters as she noticed the view behind them.

The sisters looked on from atop the hill at the stunning view of Royal Woods. As the sunset began, the image it created for the sisters to see was a picture of beauty.

"Wow, is that our home?" Lola asked in awe.

"Yes." Lisa answered.

"I've never seen it like that before." Luan said in praise.

"It's awesome, isn't it?" Lana asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, it is. It's sad that we're leaving it behind, but it's what we have to do." Luan said aloud.

And she was right. It was a shame to leave Royal Woods, but the sisters needed to do so in order to survive.

"Alright, everyone. That's enough sight-seeing. We have to keep moving." Luan prompted the others.

* * *

But the Louds weren't the only ones making an escape. Ronnie Anne and Sid had made their way out of the city along with Ronnie's three pet tigers, Maria, Carlota and Frida. A day after having fled, and they had already travelled many miles away from their home, with no particular destination in mind.

"This is all my fault! I never should have opened my stupid mouth!" Ronnie Anne self-criticised, blaming herself for the imprisonment of her friends.

"You were just trying to help everyone rise up against that jerk Don Morito, or whatever his name was! To be honest, I'm proud of you for standing up to him like that." Sid said, trying to raise her friends' spirits.

"Thanks, Sid. But I still feel guilty about CJ and the others being captured by that suited jerk!" Ronnie angrily stated.

"So, I guess you were right about him being the one to have Carl all along?" Sid asked rhetorically.

"Well, he admitted it to my face. The arrogant little…" Ronnie Anne muttered.

"If he does have Carl, do you think he has Adelaide, too?" Sid questioned, still worried about her sister.

"Probably. I don't know. Assuming she didn't do what we just did and make a run for it after our parents disappeared, then yeah. If she stuck around Great Lakes City, she probably got captured." Ronnie deducted.

"Or worse!" Sid fearfully speculated.

"We can't think like that! We've got to believe there's a light at the end of the tunnel in all of this!" Ronnie argued.

"You're right! If there's any chance we can save everyone from that tyrant, then we have to do everything we can to make it happen." Sid said, determined.

"Now you're talking my language!" Ronnie said in praise of Sid's line of thinking.

Suddenly, the tigers stopped in their tracks, sensing apparent danger.

"What's wrong, girls?" Ronnie concerningly asked her pets.

The three tigers then roared in unison as they saw a rather odd figure emerge from the horizon.

It appeared to be a hooded entity, wearing an orange robe with a red belt. It was standing on top of the large hill in the distance from the two girls.

"What are you thinking? Should we follow him?" Sid asked.

"Eh, have you got anywhere else to be?" Ronnie Anne joked as the two girls and their feline companions began to walk towards the hooded figure in the distance.

"Who knows, Sid. Maybe this could be our first amigo we find in our fight against the mafia." Ronnie Anne optimistically suggested to her bestie as the two made their way ahead.

* * *

But as Ronnie Anne wandered off in search of allies she could find to overthrow Don Morito and his army for the sake of her loved ones, one of those loved ones, Carl Casagrande, was brought before Don in his throne room for a civil chat…

"Hello, Carl." Don greeted.

"Um, hi." Carl answered cautiously.

"Some privacy, please." Don demanded from his guards, who then immediately left the room.

"That's better. Now, I'll cut right to the chase. I want you to work with me more personally, boy." Don said.

"Why?" Carl asked.

"Well, for one thing, I actually sorta like you. You're a complete joke, but it's your insistence on being a big shot and a macho man in spite of that which makes you amusing." Don insultingly admitted.

"Thanks." Carl said sarcastically.

"Also, I won't lie, having you close by would benefit me. You see, I've captured your brothers, Carlos Junior and Carlitos." Don casually confessed.

"WHAT?! You dirty rat! You let my brothers go!" Carl demanded furiously.

"Oh, the boy has a heart, does he? Such love for his brothers, that's actually quite admirable. But still, I have uses for them as part of my expanded workforce." Don said.

"Don't even touch them!" Carl ordered.

"I won't, as long as they do a good job." Don half-heartedly promised.

"I mean it, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!" Carl tried to threaten, only to earn a chuckle from the mafia leader.

"Like I said. Amusing. Anyway, I will not harm them as long as you do what I ask. As for what I was saying before you interrupted me, having you close by would benefit me because one of your relatives, your cousin Ronalda Anne Santiago, if I've got her name right, unfortunately… escaped." Don said to Carl, uneasily admitting to the last part.

"I bet she did, she's pretty awesome. Oh, and she goes by the name Ronnie Anne." Carl corrected.

"Anyway, in case 'Ronnie Anne' comes back with any kind of muscle behind her, then I want insurance to stop her from trying to overthrow me. YOU are my insurance. Well, you and all the rest of your family I have locked away." Don explained to his newest client of sorts.

"So, you're just using me?" Carl asked.

"Think of it from your end. Working as a personal servant to me will grant you many privileges." Don insisted.

"I don't want any privileges! I just want you to let me and my family GO HOME!" he pled.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. As you've probably gathered, I'm not nice, and I have an element of fear to uphold. In all honesty, your free will isn't really a factor in all this. You're doing this, whether you like it or not, so I suggest you get over it!" Don laid down the law.

"You begin tomorrow. I look forward to working closer with you, Carl." Don said, before pressing the button on his chair to call the guards back in, who quickly arrived to take Carl away.

As Carl was escorted back to his room, he grew sinister thoughts in his head. He believed that working closer with Don might be advantageous for him, as it provided more opportunities to bring him down from the inside…

* * *

The night arrived, and Lincoln and Lucy had finally made it far out of Royal Woods, albeit in a different direction entirely from Luan and the others. In the midst of panic and in a desperate effort to flee from danger, the two siblings completely missed the familiar graveyard located outside the woods.

Instead, they had made their way deep into the middle of the forest, just as the darkness reached its maximum.

"Um, Lucy… I know you're really into all this spooky stuff, but I'm a little creeped out." Lincoln said anxiously.

"We just escaped from an army of angry bullies. What is there to be afraid of out here?" Lucy asked, completely desensitised to any of the potential danger that a dark forest implied.

"Well, just off the top of my head… big grizzly bears and monsters, bottomless pits, sharp things…" Lincoln began to list.

"Shh." Lucy commanded, interrupting Lincoln.

"What?" Lincoln quietly whispered.

"Do you hear something?" Lucy asked, sensing an abnormal presence.

After knowing for sure that something, or someone, was coming, Lucy gave the instruction…

"Hide!" Lucy quietly but firmly told her brother.

The two siblings then hid behind the tree and leaned over to peak by the side of the trunk at what was approaching from behind the darkness of the woods.

It was more than one figure. Several silhouettes of pre-teen children emerged from the shadows, revealing their disfigured and decayed forms.

The children appeared to be of the undead variety. Lifeless eyes, mangled teeth and gums, discoloured skin and oddly enough, a piece of metal lodged into the side of each of their heads.

As Lincoln looked on in fear and Lucy in an odd combination of fear and awe, they finally saw something else. A large figure stepped out from the darkness, appearing front and centre amongst the others. An adult sized being, wearing a helmet that completely covered its head, mesh gloves, a bulletproof vest with metallic sleeves attached, black padded trousers, and combat boots.

The undead creatures surrounded this entity, seemingly under its command. Stood before Lincoln and Lucy was the fearsome leader of the dead.

Lincoln and Lucy quietly gulped to themselves as they realised just how much danger they were in…

The leading figure then spotted the pair from behind the tree and pointed in their direction.

The two terrified children then braced themselves as they realised, they were in deep trouble.

* * *

**_Author's Footnote:_ **

_Keep a lookout for season 2, guys._


End file.
